THE
INDIAN HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
Edited by
NARENDRA NATH LAW
Vol. XIV
CALCUTTA
1938
CONTENTS
Vol. XIV (pp. 900 + xxi)
ARTICLES
Page
Advaitaoiiryas of the 12th and 13th Centuries ... ... 401
By Prof. S. Srikantha Sastri, M.A.
Adverbs in -to ram., -tar am ... ... ... 121
By Dr. L. Renou, Ph.T).
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon ... ... ... 511
By Prof. Dr. Willi. Geiger, Pli.D.
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akluir ... 705
By Prof. Sri Ram Sharma, M.A.
Beginnings of Intercourse between India and China ... 380
Bv Prof. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, M.A.
Bhtilua Chiefs and their Literary Works ... ... 737
By Prof. Dinesli Chandra Bhattachar.vya, M.A.
Boundaries of Ancient Maharustra and Karnataka ... 779
By A. P. Karinarkar, M.A., LL.B. Candra-gotnin ... 250
By Prof. Dr. S. K. De, M.A., D. Litt.
Causeway of Giants at Angkor Thom ... ... ... 007
By Dr. George Grades, Ph. D.
Chinese-Indian Contacts prior to the latter half of the
first Century ... ... ... .. 480
By Prof. Elmer H. Cutts, M.A., Pli.D.
Contribution to Bhasa Question ... ... ... 033
By Dr. Otto Stein, Pb.D.
Date of Kaumudmahotsava ... ... ... 582
By Kshetresa Chandra Chattopadhyaya, M.A.
Dates of some Kfikatiya Records ... ... ... 340
By Dr. Dines Chandra Sircar, M.A.. Ph.D.
Iloctriues of the Mahasanghika School of Buddhism ... 110
^Doctrines of the Sarvastivada School of Buddhism 114. 799
By Dr. Nalinaksha Dutt, M.A., Ph.D., I). Litt.
Dutch in Bengal after Bedara ... ... ... 530
By Dr. Kalikinkar Datta, M.A., Ph.D.
Early Home of the Imperial Guptas ... ... ... 532
By Dr. D. C. Ganguly, M.A., Ph.D.
Polk Goddesses of Ancient and Mediaeval India ... ... 101
By -Titendra Nath Banerjea, M.A.
IV
Page
... 331
Vayu Purana ... ... ... • ...
By Dr. Bajendra Chandra Hazra, M.A., Ph. D.
Yfclalas in Mohenjo Daro
By Bev. Fr. H. Heras, S..T., M.A.
. Vyadi and Vajapyayana
By Prof. M. Hiriyanna, M.A.
Widow in Ancient India
By Dr. N. Iv. Datta, M.A., Ph. D.
MISCELLANY
Ancient Indian Official Titles Explained
By Dr. U. N. Ghoshal, M.A., Ph. I).
Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas
By Dr. Sten Konow, Ph. D.
Forgotton Moslem Invasion ...
By Dr. D. C. Ganguly, M.A., Ph. 1).
Havagrlva
By Prof. »S. Hanumantha Bao, M.A.
Historical facts from three unnoticed verses of
Prthvlrajavijaya
By Sarit Sekhar Majumdar, M.A.
Jahangir and Nurjahan
By Mohammad Yasin, M.A.
King Harsadeva of Nepal Inscription
By Bisweswar Chakravarti
Medieval Indo-Persian Literature relating to Hindu
Science and Philosophy, 1000 — 1800 A. D.
By Dr. A. B. M. Habibullah, M.A., Ph. I).
Minor Old Braliml Inscriptions in the Udayagiri
and Khandagiri Caves
By Dr. B. M. Barua, M.A., D. Lit.
Position of Mother in the Yedic Kitual ...
Significance of the Vedic Bite Punisavana
By Dr. Jatindra Bimal Chaudhury, M.A., Ph. D.
Yavanaparipa^i — Anukrama ...’
By M. M. Patkar
BEVIEWS
SELECT CONTENTS OF OBIENTAL
JOTJBNALS ...
PIBLIOGBAPHICAL fOJES ...
... 245
... 2(51
... 661
836
137
813
846
844
817
841
... 167
... 158
... 822
... 831
... 153
182, 847
186, 866
}93, 895
V
PLATES
Pacing page
Inscriptions in the Udayagiri Caves PI. 1 ... ... 160
Do PI. II. ... ... 162
Inscriptions in the Khandagiri Caves PI. III. ... ... 164
Coins of foreign Rulers of India ... 304
A pre-Mughal Citrapata from Gujarat ... ... 425
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharaveh — Plates I-YI11 ... 464
Seated Surva at Unza, North Gujrat ... ... 552
Trailokyamohana ... ... ... ,,
A rare image of Visnu from Gujrat ... ... ,,
A woman with a child (in black granite) ... ... 553
Soma (Moon) ... ... ... ... 560
ALPHABETICAL LIST OP CONTRIBUTORS
Askari, Prof. S. 11., M.A., B.L.
Raja Ramnarain ... ... 74, 757
Banerjea, Jitendra Nath, M.A.
Polk Goddesses of Ancient and Mediaeval India ... 1U1
Identification of some Ancient Indian Place-Names ... 747
Indian Elements in the Coin Devices of the early
foreign Rulers of India ... ... ... 293
Barua, Prof. Dr. B. M., M.A., D.Litt,
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kliaravela ... ... 459
Minor Old Braluni Inscriptions in the Udayagiri
and Khandagiri Caves ... ... ... 158
Bhattacharya, Prof. Mm. Vidhusekhara
Gaudapada ... ... ... •>* 392
BhaUaeharyya, Prof. Dinesh Chandra, M.A.
Bhulua Chiefs and their Literary Works ... 737
Chakravarti, Bisweswar
King Harsadeva of Nepal Inscription ... ... 841
Chakravarti, Chintaharan, M.A.
Sanskrit Works on the Game of Chess ... ... 275
Ohattopadhyaya, Kshetresa Chandra, M.A.
Date of Kaumudimahotsava ... 582
Chaudhury, Dr. Jatindra Bimal, M.A., Pli.D.
Position of Mother in Yedic Ritual ... ... 822
Significance of the Yedic Rite Pumsavana ... ... 831
Ccedes, Dr. George, Ph.D,
Causeway of Giants at Angkor Thom ... ... 607
m
Page
Coomaraswamy, l)r. Ananda K. t D.Se.
Symbolism of tbe Dome ... ... • •• 1
Cutts, Prof. Elmer H., M. A., Ph.l).
Chinese-Indian Contacts prior to the latter bait
of the first Century ... ... ... 480
Datta, Dr. Kalikinkar, M.A., Ph D.
Dutch in Bengal after Bedara ... ... 530
Datta, Dr. N. K., M.A., Ph.D.
Widow in Ancient India ... ... ... 001
De, Prof. Dr. S.K., M.A., D.Lit.
Candra-gomin ... ... ... ... 250
Deb, Harit Krishna, M. A.
Kautiliya Arthasustra on Forms oi Government ... 300
Dikskitar, V. R. Ramchandra, M.A.
Origin and Early History of Caityas ... ... 440
Dutt, Dr. Nalinaksha, M.A., Ph.D., D.Litt.
Doctrines of the Makasahgliika School of Buddhism 110
Doctrines of the Sarvastivada School oi Buddhism 114, B)!)
Gilgit Ms. of the Vinaya Pit aka ... ... ... 40!)
Gampert, Dr. AY., Ph.D.
Moriz AVinterniiz ... ... ... ... ix
Ganguly, Dr. I). C., M.A., Ph.D.
A Forgotton Moslem Invasion ... ... ... S 1 - »
Geiger, Prof. Dr. AVilh., Ph.D.
Army and AYar in Mediaeval Ceylon ... ... oil
Gliatage, A. M., M.A.
Title Dasavaikalika Sutra ... ... ... 432
Ghoshal, Dr. U. N. f ALA., Ph.D.
Ancient Indian Official Titles Explained ... ... S30
Gode, P. K., M.A.
Identification of the Siddharaja-Saras ... ... 452
Habibullah, Dr. A. B. M., M.A., Ph.D.
Medieval Indo-Persian Literature relating* to Hindu
Science and Philosophy, 1000 — 1800 A. 1). ... ... 167
Hazra, Dr. Rajendra Chandra, M.A., Ph.l).
Vayu Parana ... ... ... ... 331
Heras, Rev. Fr. H., S. J., M.A.
Velalas in Mohenjo Daro ... ... ... 245
Hiriyanna, Prof* M., M.A.
A r yadi and Yajapyayana ... ... ... 261
Johnston, Prof. E. H., M.A.
Nagarjuna’s List of Eusaladharmas ... 314
Vll
Page
Kane, P. V., M.A., LL.M.
Naming* a Child or a Person ... ... ... 224
Karmarkar, A. P., M.4., LL.B.
Boundaries of Ancient Maharastra and Karnataka ... 779
Kutare, Sant Lai, M.A.
Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan ... ... 013
Keith, Prof. Dr. A. Berriedale, M.A., D.C.L.
Relation of Ilitiite, Tocharian and Indo-European ... 201
Konow, Dr. Sten, Ph.l).
Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas ... ... 137
Lalou, Mile. Marcelle
Tun-liuang Prelude to the Karandavyuha ... ... 398
Law, Dr. Narendra Nath, M.A,, Ph.l).
Professor Winternitz ... ... ... iii
Majmudar, M. It., M. A., LL.B.
Gujarati or Western School of Mediaeval Indian Sculpture 553
Majunidar, Sarit Sekliar, M.A.
Historical facts from three unnoticed verses of
Prthvlrajavijaya ... ... ... 844
Patkar, M. M.
Yuvanaparipati — Anukrama ... ... ... 153
Paul, Prainode Lai, M.A.
Ivulatattvarnava — a spurious work? ... ... 502
Pisharoti, Prof. K. Rama, M.A.
Glimpses into the Ancient History of Cochin ... ... 503
Przyluski, Prof. Dr. J., Ph.D.
From the Great Goddess to Kala ... ... ... 2(57
Raghavan, Dr. V., M.A., Ph.D.
History of Bhavika in Sanskrit Poetics ... ... 787
Rangachar, S., M.A.
Immediate Source of the Kathasariisagara ... ... 57
Ran, Prof. P. Nagaraja, M.A.
Problems of ‘‘Definition” and “Perception” in Sri
Madhva’s Epistemology ... ... ... 353
Rao, Prof. S. Hanumantha, M.A.
Hayagrlva ... ... ... ... 840
Ray, Dr. H. C., M.A., Ph.D.
Surjanacarita of Candra^ekhara ... ... ... 570
Ray, Rai Bahadur Aniar Nath
Mandukya Upani§ad and the Karikas of Gaudapada ... 5G4
Renou, Dr. L„ Ph.D.
Adverbs in -tardm, *tardm ... ... ... 121
2
Vlll
tagb
Rhys Davids, Mrs. C. A. F., M.A., D.Lit.
Going Far or Going Beyond? ... ... ... 5U9
Sarkar, Prof. Jagadish Narayan, M.A.
Saltpetre Industry in India ... ... ... 080
Sarnia, B. N. Krishnamurti, M.A.
Post-Vyasaraya Commentators ... ... ... 092
Sastri, Dr. Hiranauda, M.A., D.Lit.
Pre-Mughal Citrapata from Gujarat .. ... 425
Sastri, Prof. K. A. Nilakanta, M.A.
Beginnings of Intercourse between India and China ... 380
Sastri, Prof. S. Srikantha, M.A.
Advaitacaryas of the 12th and 13th Centuries ... 401
Sastri, Prof. S. S. Suryanarayana, M.A.
Omniscience ... ... ... ... 280
Sen, Dr. Sukumar, M.A., Ph.D.
Indo-Arica ... ... ... ... 324
Sharma, Prof. Dr. Har Dutt, M.A., Ph.D.
Nirnayakaustubha or Laghunirnayakaustubha of
Visvesvarabhatta ... ... ... ... 345
Sharma, Prof. Sri Earn. M.A.
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under
Akbar ... ... ... ... 705
Sircar, Dr. Dines Chandra, M.A., Ph.D.
Dates of some Kakatiya Records ... ... ... 340
Vamadeva the Saiva Saint ... ... ... 90
Srinivasachari, Prof. C. S., M.A.
Nawab Muhammad Ali and the Siege of Arcot U75J) ... 545
Stein, Dr. Otto, Ph.D.
Contribution to Bhasa Question ... ... 033
Tagore, Dr. Rabindra Nath, D.Lit.
Foreword ... ... ... ... ... i
Thomas, I)r. E. J., M.A., D.Lit.
Mohenjo-Daro and the Aryans ... ... ... 327
Yasin, Mohammad, M.A.
Jahangir and Nurjahan ... ... ... 817
INDEX
Abhidhana-Rajendra, connotations of
official titles explained in, 837ff.
Abhiseka-laksmI, numismatic repre-
sentation of, 305
Ahhyudayika, worship of mother in
rituals of, 829
Aditi, great goddess, 272
Advaita, dates of writers on philoso-
phy of, 401-7 ; chronology of
acaryas of, 408
Adverbs, history of the formation of,
f /
121ff. ,* in-taram, -tariim, 121-36
Agama&lstra (of G a u d a p a d a),
Buddha’s silence about dhammas
and jiiana mentiond in, 392f.,
397
Agathokles, Indian female figure on
copper coins of, 30
Aggabodhi TIT (Ceylonese ruler),
Indian soldiers in service of, 511
Aitareya Brahmana characteristic of
Vairajya in, 372; types of govern-
ment in, 37 Iff.
Akalahka, Suresvara earlier than,
401
A kbar, agricultural policy of, 71 4ff. ;
adoption of Nasaq by, 707 ; assess-
ment and land revenue under, 705-
34; collection of land revenue,
systematised by, 725f, ; condition of
cultivators in time of, 723; experi-
ments in revenue system made by
706; introduction of Taqum-uU
Mulk by, 708; Muqaddam an
official of , 714 ; position of Jagir-
dar in time of, 714-15; relation
between state and cultivator in
time of, 723; survey and measure-
ment introduced by, 725; various
revenue systems in operation in
provinces of, 715-23, Zabti system
introduced by, 709
Ali Quli Khan, career, of 817f. ; murder
of, 818 ; Nur jahan’s marriage with,
817 ; See Sher Afghan
Aliwardi, discontent among officers in
the army of, 90 ; relation of Raja
Ramnarain with, 79-80, 83; ser-
vices of Hindus preferred by, 757
Al’-Ma’mun, Ohitor invaded by, 813,
815
A m aram a n i ky a, V ai k n n t ha v i j ay a
written by, 745
An = Linga, 251
Anandagiri, Anantiinandagiri distin-
guished from, 406f. ; identification
of, 405; works attribut'd to, 407
Anantamanikya, Gan lharvamanikya
succeeded by, 741
Anantanandagiri, date of, 407
Ancient India, five divisions of, 747 ;
identification of place-names of,
747-56; praeticeof divorce in, 666;
widow in, 661-79
Angkor Thom, Causeway of Giants at,
607-12
Antarabhava, 812
Antialkidas, Tndra on tetradrachm
of, 298
Anupubbabhisamaya, views of Sarva-
stivadins about, f*05ff
Anu^ayas, nature of, 809
A padesasatakam, Candramanikya’s
century of gnomic verses in, 745
A pa stain ba, remarriage of widow
prohibited in, 665
Apastamba-Grhyasutra, rules of nam«
ing prescribed in, 229
Arabs, conflict of Pratibaras with,
815; Rajputana invaded twice hv,
816
Arcot, immediate effect of capture of,
551f. ; Nawab Muhammad Ali and
siege of, 545-52
Arhat, 49, 54f.
Arhathood, Sarvastivadins and
Theravadins about, 120, 800-803
Aryans, Mohenjo-Daro and, 327-330
Asamskrta, 112
AsSvalayana Grhyasutra, Caitya sacri-
C X ]
ftps mentioned in, 444$ . ; rules of
, naming mentioned in, 229
Atman, 52
Avantivarman, date of, 596
Avtjja, sarpkkara and, 113
Avyakfta, 812
Azes, c ty goddess on coins of, 304 ;
figure of Durga-siiphavahinl on
coins of, 30off.
Azilises, abhiseka-laksml on, 305 ;
tutelary deity on coins of, 304
Bairam Khan, place of Mubarik’s
stabbing of, 456
Balahajataka, Tun-huang manuscript
containing version of, 399
Balaji Baji Rao, 88
Ballala II, Pandyas attacked by, 6L7f. ;
Kalacuryas and Kadambas de-
feated by, 618f.
Barabudur stupa, 16
Basantaram, see Raja Ramnarain
Bashar, date of invasion of Chit or by,
816; invasion of Chitor by, 816
Baudhayaolya Grbyasesa-sutra, rules
ot namakarana in, 233-34
Becoming, meaning of, cliff.
Bedara, defeat of the Dutch at, 536
Bengal, early Gupta kingdom in, 535 ;
the Dutch in, 536-44; Nawab of, 91
Bhadrabahu, commentator, 432
Bhamaha, nature of bhavika consi-
dered by, 787
Bhartjrhari, date of, 401
Bhaskara (vedantin), date of, 401
Bhasa, question about genuineness of
plays ascribed to, 633ff, ; repeti-
tions in plays of, 634-36 ; quoted
passages not found in works of,
637-40; hall containing statues of
ancestors described by, 646ff .
Bhava, evolution of Buddhistic mean-
ing of, 311 ; original sense of, 312
Bhavabhuti, Sankara earlier than, 401
Bhavika, Bhamaha’ s opinion about,
789 ; discussions in works of poetics
on, 787-89; distinction between
svabhavokti and, 797
Bheda, explanation of, 265ff .
Bhimadeva, Oahamana king, 571
Bhimasthfina, Bhl§ana identified with,
752
Bhi§apa, identification of, 75if.
Bhillama (Yadava king), death of, C25f
Bhoja, Sithara prince, 629
Bhuias, Gandharvamanikya’s inclu-
sion in the galaxy of, 741 ; Gan-
dharvamanikya regarded as one
of, 741
Bkulua, accounts of the chiefs of, 737-
49; foundation of Sura kingdom
at, 737 ; literary works of the
rulers of, 743-46
Bkumaka, 142
Bijjala, usurpation of, 614f.
Brahman, 52 ; idea of Isvara and, 291 ;
identity of Jiva with, 290
Brahmi Inscription in the Udayagiri
and Khandagiri caves, 158-166
Brhaspatimitra, king of Magadha,
479 ; Kharavela’s contemporaneity
with, 484
Brhatkatha, Pancatantra stories in,
65 ; version of, 57
Brhatkatha man jari, see Kathasarit-
sagara
Brhatkathamanjarl and Kathasarit-
sagara, difference in proper names
of, 71-73 ; divergence in stories of,
70-71
Brhatkatha, 41oka-samgraba, 57
Buddha, interpretation of original
teaching of, 312f. ; non-existence
of juana and dharma according to,
393 ; significance of four bowls of, 7
Buddhibalasaptaka, date of, 275;
game of double-handed chms dealt
with in, 276
Budhagupta, date of, 533
Oaityas, origin and early history of,
440-51 ; Brahman ic literature men-
tioning, 440-47 ; Buddhist and
Jaina adoption of, 448ff. etymo-
logy and meaning of, 440-442
Cahamanas, importance of Pfthvi-
rajavijaya in the reconstruction of
history of, 844
Calukyas, fall of, 621f.
CandracArya ^Oandragomin, 256
C *x J
Candragomin, 256-60; Buddhistic
honorific of, 258; Candra school
founded by, 256 ; date of, 257 ;
different writers bearing name of,
288; early life of, 2*8f. ; works
of, 259
Candragupta I, Candasena of Kau-
mudimahotsava nob to be identi-
fied with, 580ff. ; Vaisali conquered
by, 535
Candragupta II, brother’s widow
married to, 670
Camlramanikya, A pade£a4atakam
written by, 745; Vijayamnnikya
successor of, 745
Oandra-school, Candragomin founder
of, 256
Candra Vyakarana, 260
Candra^ekhara, Uaitanya’s disciple
identified with, 579; Surjanacarita
xvritten by, 578f.
Caturaugadipika, authorship of, 275;
game of chess described in, 275,
278, 279
Caturangakerali, 279
Caturangakridana, 279
Caturangapaddhati, 278
Caturaugaprakasa, 279
Caturangaracanfi, author of, 277
Gaturangatarangim, game ot chess
described in, 275
Oaturangavinoda, 277
Central Asia, early Chinese ambassa-
dors in, 492ff.
Ceylon (Mediaeval), army and war in,
511-31 ; constituents of army in,
51Cf* ; fortified camps in, 52Sff. ;
naval battles in, 527f, ; spies in
523f. ; weapons in, 518ff.
Chanda Sahib (Nawab of Arcot),
English attack on, 545ff.
Chang Ch’ien, Chinese envoy, 492ff.
Caula, rito of, 826
Chess, Sanskrit works oil game of,
275-79; Triveng&clrya’s proficien-
cy in, 279
China, beginning of intercourse be-
tween India and, 382; derivation
qf name of, 380; different names
for, 381 ; early Indian contacts
with, 416-502; early Sanskrit texts
referring to, 380, 387; exchange
of commodities between India and,
500ff. ; maritime relations between
India and, 384-87 ; Sanskrit cina
as origin of name of, 310f. ; temple
Mrga&khavana for use of priests
from, 532; Ts’in dynasty respon-
sible for designation of, 381 f.
('i’ta, designation of China derived
from, 380f.
Citrapata, Jaina divinities in pre-
Mughal, 430-31; mystic diagram oi
the Jainas illustrated in, 426;
pre-Mughai specimen of, 425-31
Citsuklia, date of, 404; different
persons bearing name of, 404
Cochin, ancient history of, 503-10
Coin, bi lingual, 295; cock on, 224;
elephant on, 294, 301 ; Indian
elements in devices of, 293-308
Colas, Pandyas fighting against, 631
Cosmos = house, 13ff., 55
Dahar, Muhammad bin Kasim’s con-
quest over, 813
Daksinapatha, ancient names of rivers
flowing through, 780; early men-
tion of countries belonging to, 779,
783;Puranic evidences regarding
extent of, 780
Dalapati Raya, patron of, 1561'.
Rantlin, date of, 6 r 4
lUsakiilika, Dasavaikalika as later
name for, 437, 438; explanation
of title of, 4?8
Dasavaikalika Sufcra, title of, 432-39;
traditional story about composi-
tion of, 435-6
Dastur, meaning of, 709
Dattakhiisa. revolt against social re-
forms introduced by, 563
Deccan, struggle for supremacy in, 613-
32; fall of Oalukya power in, 6l4ff.
Reflation, function of jatis in, *354:
function of sd <lr$ya (similarity) in,
358ff .
Demetrios, Indian feature in coins of,
296
[ xii 3
Devara, meaning of, 663
Devasabhfi, parts of Dewas State
identified with, 747 ; places in the
division of, 748
Devavarma, identification of, 534
Dhanyamanikya, Laksmanainanikva
succeeded by, 744
Dharma, Buddha’s silence about ex is.
tenceof, 393f.; relation between
dharmin and, 356; true nature of,
396
Dharmas. See Kbandhas.
Dharmakirti, Sankara’s contempara-
neity Vith, 401
Dhava, meaning of, 661
Dhruvaderl, re-marriage of, 670
Dhruvananda, a work on family
history written by, 562
Dimka, derivation of, 13S
Divyamalika (on chess), 278
Dome, ideology of the construction of,
If 5 Rgvedic reference to. 2ff. ;
symbolism of, 1-56
Durga-Simhavahim, numismatic re-
presentation of, 306
Durlabhaka, marriage of another’s
wife with, 670
Durlabhanarayana, Tippera king’s
conflict with, 728
Dutch, Bengal visited by, 536ff.
Dvairajya, Aristotle on, 3*3; mean-
ing of, 367fL
Dvesa, characteristic of, 287
Ekanam^a, description of goddess of,
906
Espionage, Ramnarain making use
of system of, 764
Erlangga (king), statue of, 651
Enkratides, types of coin used by, 295
Folk Goddesses of Ancient and Medi-
aeval India, 101-109
Gaja-Laksmi, numismatic representa-
tion of, 305
Gaaap&ti, inscriptions! dates re.,
340-343
Geneva (Uaja), Hindu revival in time
of, 563
Gandbarramanikya, copperplate grant
of? 740j I4a Khap and Kedara
Raya contemporaneous with, 741 ;
penegyrics on military exploits of,
739
Gaiijiphakhelana, game of card des-
cribed in, 277
Gam) a pad a, interpretation of a line
from Agamaf&stra of, 392-97 ;
Manclukya Upanisad and Kfirikas
of, 564ff . ; similarity between
Vedanta and Buddhism shown by,
56Sf.
Ghalla Bakhsh, land revenue system
of assessment made by, 713
Glgit, manuscript of Vi nay a pitaka
from, 409-24
Giridbara, work oil game of chess
written by, 277
Gobhila-Grhyasutra, rules of naming
prescribed in, 230
Gotamiputra Sri Satakarni, 138
Guhila Kbommma II, Arab invasion
repulsed by, 813; confederacy with
Nagabhata II and Govindaraja
formed by, 816; date of, 814
Gujrat, characteristics of sculpture in,
556f. ; pre-Mughal citrapata from,
425-31 ; sculpture in, 553f., 561
Guna<Jhya, 57
Guptas (Imperial), early home ol,
532-35; territories possessed by
534f.
Gurutva, meaning of, 285
Hamlr, widow married by, 671
Hamlradeva (Oahamana prince), career
of, 574ff.
Hiribhadra, commentator, 432f.
Hariti, spread of worship of, 104
Harsacarita (work of Banabha^a)*
Kaumudlmahotsava influenced by,
598ff.
Harsadeva, date of, 843; Sri Harisa
of Pragjyotisa wrongly identified
with, 841 f.
Hathigumpha, 164
Hathigumpha Inscription, historical
value of, 460f. ; mention of Bfhas-
patimitra in, 479 ; revised text of,
461-70; translation of text of, 470-
82
t 3
Hayagriva, description of Dhyana-
sloka of, 846; Vadiraja as a
devotee of, 846
Helaraja, bheda and samsarga accord-
ing to, 264
Hinayana, evolution in meaning of
bhava in, 311; original teaching
of, 312f.
Hindu Arts and Science, compendium
of, 179-181
Hindu Science and Philosophy, Medi-
aeval Indo-Persian literature re-
lating to, 167-181
Hippostratos, city-deity on coins of,
304
HiranyakesI Grhyasutra, time for
naming a child prescribed in,
231ff.
Hittite, Armenian and, 204; forma-
tion of verbal noun in, 204 ; no
feminine gender in, 204; non-
Indo-European origin of, 223 ; non-
primitive character of, 203, 206,
207 ; presence of root class verb
in, 207 ; relation of Aecadian
spirant in, 2Glff. ; relation of
Tocharian, Indo-European and,
201-23; unity of Tocharian with,
210-217
Hittite-Tocharian, common roots in,
216; loss of aspiration in, 210:
medio-passives in, 215; morpho-
logical innovation in, 214ff . ; no
common historical origin of, 213,
similarity in signification of parti-
ciples in, 217
Hiuen Tsang, error in traditional
reports recorded by, 53o
House erection (grhanirmana), cere-
monies relating to, 19
Hoya$alas, expeditions against
Kadambas led by, 616f .
India (Ancient?, widow in, 661-679;
See Ancient India.
India, Anglo-Butch relations in, 540-
42; beginning of intercourse be-
tween China and, 382; Ceylonese
kings employing soldiers from,
511f» ; Chinese names for , 490 ; coin
devices of early foreign rulers of,
293-308 ; loss of Butch possessions
in, 542ff . ; maritime relations be-
tween China and, 384-87 ; mediae-
val art in, 554ff.
Indo-Arica, 324-326
Indo-China, Buddhist mission in,
384; spread of Brahmamcal re-
ligion in, 383
Indo-European, Hittite as a develop-
ed form of, 209ff. ; origin of word
vidhavd traced to, 661; original
home of, 222 ; relation of Hittite,
Tocharian and, 201-223 *
indo-Hittite, Indo-European and
Hittite as branches of, 201 ft*. ;
theory, 201-210
Indra, identification of Greek Zeus
with, 299
Indra-cult, predominance of Vasudeva
cult over, 298ff.
Indrapura, identification of, 749;
Svetavat-alaya identified with,
298
Indus Valley, relation between
Ilgveda and civilisation of, 327f.
Islam Khan, Anantamanikya defeated
by, 741
Isvara, control of t mdyd > by, 289 ; dis-
cussion of omniscience of, 280-292 ;
distinction between jiva and, 290;
idea of Brahman and, 291 ; merit
and demerit perceptible to, 2831. ,
291; sarvajnatva of, 289; a va-rupa-
jndna of, 291
Jahangir, misleading accounts oi
Nurjahan’s marriage with, 817,
819 ; no early love for Meherunnisa
shown by, 818, 820 ; Sher Afghan
not murdered by, 818, 820
Jainas, cosmography in literature of,
388; mystic diagrams or Tantric
yantras adopted by, 426
Jaisiab, Sind reconquered by, 813
Jambudvlpa-prajfiapti, date of compo-
sition of, 390; names of sections
m, 389
J ambudvipa-prajnapti-s&fngraha, des-
cription of, 388-91
t xiv J
Jara, similarity of Hariti of Buddhist
texts and, 102
Jara Raksasl, description of, 101
Jataka, widow re-marriage mentioned
in, 670
Jati, definition of, 354; Madhva’s
repudiation of Nyaya conception
of, 355ff .
Java, custom of erecting statues in,
651
Jayacandra, king of Kanyakubja, 573
Jayakaumudl, description of chess in,
279
Jayasimha of Amber, Asvamedha
sacrifice performed by, 350ff.
Jayasimha Kaipadruma, date of, 350
Jayavarman VII, architectural re-
presentation at Angkor Thom
made by, 608f .
Jetthatissa, Aggabodhi’s war with, 511
Jinadasa, commentator, 432f.
Jiva, distinction between Isvara and,
290; identity of Brahman with,
290
Jnanaghana, date of, 403; Tattva-
suddhi written by, 402
Jnanottamas, identification of, 403
Jyestha, prevalence in South India
the worship of, 104f., relation of
Sltala and AlaksmI with, 107 ;
Sitala a form of, 106
Kadambas, struggle between Hoyasa] as
and, 616f.
Kakatiya Records, dates of, 340-344 ;
theories about, 340
Kala, Buddhist texts about the identi-
ty of Kali with, 273 ; Dravidian
derivation of, 267 ; Kali identi-
fied with, 273; meanings of, 267,
270; non-Aryan origin of, 267;
serpent forms of, 270; Siva as
incarnation of, 273; Vedie litera-
ture about, 268
Kalacuryas, struggle between Hoya-
sajas and, 616f .
Kalidasa, Caityas mentioned by, 447
Kalka - Kaluga, 268
Kaiaka <SkfcJ, similarity between
Kaiaka (BaU) and, 268
Kalakacaryakathanaka, second Saka
conquest mentioned in, 1 1 2
Kalki, Jain tradition about, 271;
meaning of Kala akin to, 269,
271; non-Aryan origin of, 272;
Visnu as incarnation of, 271, 273,
274
Kalyanavarman (Magadha king),
Kaumudlmahotsava giving ac-
count of, 586ff.
Kalyani, fall of, 622 f.
Kamalagila. criticism of advaita
doctrine by, 401
Raraboja, custom of erecting statues
in, 651
Kamsanarayana, Raja Ganesa not
identical with, 563
Kan i ska, relation of Little Yiiechi
with, 148; statue of, 648
Kantivatl, daughter of Jayacandra,
married to Prthviraja, 573
Kapisa, deities associated with city
of, 295f., 293
Kapisa, Indrapura located near, 75o
Karan davyuha, Tun-huang manus-
cript as fore-runner of, 398-400
Karnataka, boundaries of, 781, 786 ;
early mention of country of, 781 ;
Kuntala identical with, 780
Karuna, definition of, 330; Sarvasti-
vadins’ remark about, 799
Katkasaritsa gara, Brkatkatkamanjari
differs in the order of Lambakas
from, o9 ; immediate source of, 57 ;
opinion of scholars on the diffe-
rence between, 61-63
Kathasaritsagara and Brhatkatha, di-
fference in proper names of, 71-
73 ; divergence in stories of, 70-71
Kathavattbu, arguments of Sarvasti-
vadins and Tberavadins described
in, 114-17
Katuka, inscriptions containing name
of, 836; significance of official
title of, 837f.
Kaumudlmahotsava, agreement of
other works with, 5&5ff . ; author-
ship of, 583, 603, 606; doubt about
historicity of the story of, 586 ;
t XV 3
history of the Guptas not to be
inferred from, 606; influence of
Kalidasa's writings in, 593f. ; no
evidence of contemporaneity of
Kalyanavarxnan with the author
of, 5$4f , ; reference to Bankara-
carya in, 592f . ; upper limit of
date of, 693,603
Kautalya, caitya worship mentioned
by, 447f.
Kautilya, dravya-prakrti and idja-
pmkrti distinguished by, 3o7;
type of king favoured by, 374ff .
Kautiliya, discussion on forms of
government in, 366-79; dvairdjya
and cfumjya forms of government
in, 308ff. ; meaning of vyawna-
rintd in, 366; practice of divorce
mentioned in, 666 ; rules and re-
marriage of women in, 689 ; type
of king preferred in, 374f.
Kaviraja-marga, boundaries of Kar-
nataka described in, 781
Kavitarkika (Raghuuatha), Kuutuka-
ratnakara written by, 743 ; Laks-
matiamanikya’s patronage to,
742
Kavyamimamsfi, reference to five
divisions of India in, 747
Kautukar&tnak&ra (farcical Sanskrit
drama), 743; military exploits of
Gandharvamunikya mentioned in,
739
Kegavacarya, ancestry of, 698;
Vidyadhi^a as teacher of. 699 ;
works of, 099
Khadira Grhyasutra, rules ot naming
in, 231
Khandagiri Oaves, inscriptions in,
164-166
Khandhas, 116-17
Khapdapala, explanation of the offi-
cial title of, 839 ; inscriptions
containing name of, 836 ; Khaiitfa-
raksa as equivalent of, 839
Khfe$dfcr&k§a, Bee Khan^apala.
Kharavela, 160; revised text and
translation of Hathigumpha ins*
cription of, 461-82
3
Kbibira, Hathigumpha inscription
mentioning city of, 474,483
Khola, inscriptions containing name
of, 836; significance of official
title of, 837
. K h ummana-Ra&o , invasion of Al-
Ma’mim narrated in, 813
Kinnarl, numismatic representation
of, 302
Kiesa, meaning of, 285 ; raga, dvesa
and dubkha as constituents of,
286 f.
Ksaharata, meaning of, 139f. ; time
of disuse of designation as, 162
Ksatrapa, significance of, 144f.
Ksemendra, 58, 66, 68 ; style of, 67
Kujiila Kadpbises, Baka Era intro-
duced in life-time of, 147
Kulatattvarna\ a, doubt about genu-
ineness of, 562f.
Kumaradevl, Candragupta’s marriage
with, 535 ; Candragupta I married
to, 58 j
Kumarapala, daina ruler of Gujarat,
425
Kutnbhakarna (Rana), architects and
sculptors patronised by, 557
K unci alii, story of, 103
Kusala, distinction between akusala
and, 316
Kusaladharmas, Ntigarjuna’s list of,
317-323 ; number of, 315
Kusanas and Bakas, 137-152
Lughu Asvalayana-smrti-sutra, names
prescribed in, 240
Laghumrnayakaustubha. See Nir-
nayakaustubha.
I .aksmanamanikya, Dhauyamanikya
successor of, 744; division of Bhu-
lua in the time of, 742 ; literary
activities of, 742 ; names of paftca-
rafnci in the court of, 742; Sans-
krit works of, 743f.
Laksma^amfinikya's authorship of, 743
Laksmi, Hclienised representation of,
303, 306f. ; numismatic represen-
tation of, 302
Lanku, Simkala different from, 758
La hka vatarasutra, reference to
t xvi ] *
Buddha’s silence about nature of
dharmas in, 394, 396
Lanke&vara, tutelary God of Kapisa,
m
Lilacarita, boundaries of Maharastra
described in, 781
Lingas, installation of, 65lf .
Madharlputra Igvarasena, 239
Madhya, ‘Definition’ in epistemology
of, 353-359; jiirvikalpa stage of
perception refuted by, 363 ; percep-
tion in epistemology of, 369-665;
repudiation of Nyaya conception
of jati by, 355f.
Madhyadesa, boundaries of, 747
Madhyamakarika, Buddha’s silence
about nature of dharmas mention-
ed in. 393f.
Magadha, transfer of Gupta capital
from Bengal to, 53 >
Maggasamaugl, lLOf.
Mahabharata, caitya and y Ct fxt men-
tioned side by side in, 443;
reference to re-marriage of women
in, 664
Mahaksatrapa, significance of, 144 f.
Mahamegliavahana, 160
Mahommedan political terms, Sanskrit
equivalents of, 154-55
Mahapadma, Nava-Nanda as dynastic
name of, 378
Maharaja, significance of Maharaja-
dhiraja and, 100
Maharastra, boundaries of, 782f, ;
early mention of, 781 ; extent of,
784-786; Ba$tika identified with,
785
Maharastrakas, Pulike^i’s conquest
over, 781, 782
Mahasaiighika School of Buddhism,
doctrines of, 110-113
Mahavamga, work on family history of
Bengal, 562
Mahavastu, story of Kunclala, men-
tioned in, 103
Maitri, Sarvastiv adins’ remark about,
799
Matakapnram stone inscription, des-
cription of Vfimasambhu in, 96ff.
Malava Vikrama lira, origin
146
Malayasundarikatlioddhara, J aina
work, 654
Manava Grhvasutra, rules for naming
a child prescribed in, 233
M«n<Jana, treatises on architecture
and sculpture written by, 557f.
Man<Jukya TJpanisad, antiquity of,
567 ; Karikas forming no part of,
565; views about extent of, 564f.
Manu, practice of niyoga in time of,
665, 672; re-marriage of widow
prohibited in, 664 ; rules of
naming in, 238-239
Matronymics, instances of, 2391T.
Maues, city goddess ou coins of, 304 ;
Indra coins of, 300
Maya, numismatic representation
of, 302
Mediaeval Iudo-Persian literature,
bibliographical survey of, 167ft\
Mediaeval Indo-Persiau literature
relating to Hindu science and
Philosophy (1000-1800) A. 1)., 167-
181
Meditation, Sarvastivadins’ views
regarding, 810
Minad, Bilara territory annexed
to, 249
Minas, union of Velalas with, 232;
Velalas subdued by, 261
Mohenjo-daro, art of writing in, 329;
Aryans and, 327-330; cosmopolitan
population in, 327 ; lack of evi-
dence of Aryan character of, 328 ;
people of Sumer and Mongolian
types in, 327; phallic worship in,
328; priority of Bgveda civiliza-
tion to, 328f. ; Velalas mentioned
in inscriptions of, 245-55; worship
of great goddess in, 272; writing
of vowels in, 245
Mora well, erection of pratimd, men-
tioned in inscription of, 649
Mubarik, place of Bairiim Khan’s
murder by, 456
Mttdraraksasa, date of, 596
Mughal empire, disintegration of* 74
L xvii 3
Mubammarl bin Kasim , Sind con-
quered by, 813
Mustafa Khan, assaults on Patna
by, 89
Mrga4ikhavana, Gupta’s grant of
land to, 53 1 ; location of, 533f . ;
Sri-Gupta’s construction of temple
of, 532
Nagabha^a II, clash between Arabs
and, 815
Nagananda, Kaumudunahotsava com-
pared with, 596f.
Nfigiirjuna, ku^aladharmas mentioned
by, 317-323
Nahapana, meaning of date of, 137
Naksatras, names derived from,
234ff.
Na l nkuvera, tutelary god of Kapisa,
297
Nftrna (name), deities as sources of,
237f . ; gotras as sources of, 226:
month of birth as sources of, 240 :
nahsatras as sources of, 234ff. ;
u pa pa das (titles) added to. 238f.
Niimakarana (sacrament of naming),
procedure of naming in, 224-44 ;
rite of, 825; sacrificial names in,
224ff.
Nniiaghat> figures representing mem-
bers of Andhra dynasty in cave
inscription of, 647
Nasaq, Akbar’s adoption of, 707 ;
meaning of, 713f .
Nava-Nanda, meaning of, 378
Nawab Muhammad Ali, initiative in
siege of A root taken by, c45, 552
Nawab of Bengal, relations between
the Dutch and, 537ff.
Nepal Inscription, date of, 843;
identification of king Harsadeva
of, 843
Niriiayakaustubha, authorities quo-
ted in, 347f.; date of, 348; des-
cription of, 345-52 ; different
topics dealt with in, 346
N iraupamyastava, reference to
Buddha's silence about nature of
dharmas in, 394
Niriiayasindhu, names in, 240
Nitimayukha, description of chess in,
279
Niyoga, practice of, 665
Nurjahan, misleading accounts of
* Jahangir's marriage with, 817,
819
Nyaya school, view about perception
in, 362f.
Orissa, culture of mediaeval art in,
554
Paccayas, problem of, 112f.
Padanudhyata, meaning of, 96
Padmanandi, details about, 390f. ;
J ambudvjpa-prajnapti-samgraha
of, 388-91
Padmavasini, Hellenised Laksrnl in
figure of, 307f.
Pallava dynasty, reliefs of two kings
of, 649
Pamnyasa Harsaratnagani, disciple
of Jayaratnasuri, 426f.
PancaratraSamhitas, date of, 335
Piincjyas, Ball ala IPs march against,
617f.
Panini, rules of naming in, 236
Pantaleon, Indian female figure on
copper coins of, 301
Pfiragu, evolution in ’[meaning of,
311 ff,
Parakkamabahtt, army of, 5l5ff. ;
celebration of victory over Rohana
by, 527
Paraskara Grhyasiitra, rules for
naming a child prescribed in, 232
Parthasarathimigra, explanation of
hheda and samsarga by, 265
Paryavasthana, distinction between
anugayas and, 809
Pataliputra, Licchavis and Guptas
in possession of, 535
Patrapra£asti, 153-157
Patron ymics, instances of, 220
Perception, kinds of, 360-61 ; nfrvikatpa
stage of, 363; view of Nyaya
school about, 362f .
Periplus, Nahapana identified as
Manbanou in, 143
Peukolaos, Indian goddess on copper
coins of, 303
C xvili ]
Phallic worship, no connection of
Rudra-$iva cult with, 328
Piiusara, meaning of, 296
Plato, classification of government
by, 373
Po-fa-fco, location of, 752; Parvata
identified with, 754f.
Prabhacandra, Bhaskara mentioned
by, 401
Pr abancl h aci nt am a ni , r e-m arr i a go
with sister’s husband mentioned
in, 671
Prabandbakosa , fight between
Govindaraja and the Moslems
mentioned in, 815; genealogy of
Cfihamana kings given in, 814
PrficI (river), Kharavela’s royal
palace on both banks of, 478, 484 ;
identification of, 478f n .
Pr aka batman, arguments on omni-
science of God discussed by, 284
Prataparka, date of, 350; extracts
from, 349
Prataparudra, inscription of time of,
343
Pratimagrha, Bhasa’s mention of
statues of ancestors contained in,
646-657 ; Malayasundarikathod-
dhara referring to, 654f. ; nature
of, 646, &50, 653f.
Pratimfi (statue), prevalence in India
of the custom of erection of, 657
Prola, inscription of, 344
Prthvirajavijaya, historical informa-
tion in, 844f. ; reference to
Durlabharaja's assistance to
Yatsaraja in, 845
P:pthvlraja, CahamSna king, 572f.
Fuips, significance of, 835
Pumsavana, both male and female
signified by * puips* in the name of,
831ff.; object of performance of,
833; rituals of, 823
Purapa, relation between Vayavlya
and Saiva, 331fF.
Puskalavati, tutelary goddess of, 303,
304
Fathujjana, discussion al>out position
of, 807f,
Raga, aspects of, 287
Raj§, Sankararya’s interpretation of,
367
Raja Janaki Ram, 92
Raja Ramnarain, 757-78; battle
between Karp gar Khan and, 775;
character of, 81 ; early life and
family history of, 75ff. ; education
of, 84-86 ; home and birth date of,
78ft. ; honour conferred upon, 758;
importance of letters addressed to
Nawab by, 762fL ; official career of.
86-95 ; relation of Raja Janakiram
with, 92ff. ; rivalry between Raja
Sundar Singh and, 773; services
to Aliwardi rendered by, 757, 760
llajamala, accounts of Tip pera kings
given in, 738
Rajasekhara, location of Simhala in
Deccan by, 756
Rajavallabha, Tippera king’s conquest
over, 738
RajataranginI, instance of woman’s
re-raarriage in, 670
Rajya, Brhaspati’s different interpre-
tation of. 367; Sankararya’s
interpretation of, 367
R5ma Varmas, two kings of roehin,
503ff. ; dates of, 507ff .
Ramaeandra Tirtha (pontiff), ances-
try of, 692; date of , 692f . ; works
of, 693f.
Ram am an iky a, Amaramanikya suc-
ceeded by, 746
Ramayana, caitya and yftpa des-
cribed in, 443f.
Panglal, chieftain, 75-76
Ranjuvula, representation of Gaja-
lak$tm on coins of, 305
Rastikas, Mabarastra as later name
of, 785 ; reference in A4ol;a Edicts
to, 783
Ttbhus, 2ff.
Revenue, Akbar’s system of assess-
ment and collection of, 705-734
R eviews. Brahm an-Rom an-Kath al ik -
Samba d, 865; Brhatta ra BhSrater
Puja Parvan, 148; Concepts of
Buddhism, 182 ; Dharmalco^a, 8 *7 ;
[ six ]
Greeks in India and Bactria, 857 ;
Guide to Fatepur Sikri, 188; I$ta-
siddhi, 849; Les Grammairiens
Prakrits, 850; Le Prakrtiinusa-
i ana de Purusottama, 850 ; Pan i-
nlya-Biksa, or the Biksa-Vedahga,
855; Some Archaeological Finds
in the idar state, 856 ;
Rgveda, art of writing unknown to,
329 ; no chronological relation can
be established between Mohenjo-
daro civilisation and, 329; phallic
worship not favoured by, 328 ;
posteriority of Mobenjo-daro civi-
lisation to, 328f. ; relation between
Tndus civilisation and, 327 ;
superior position of daughter
mentioned in, 834
Rohana, Parakkamabiihu’s campaigns
against province of, 525
Roof plate, significance of opening in,
33ff. ; 47ff.
Rudramanikya, last scion of Bhulun
chiefs, 746
Rudrfimba, inscriptional dates of time
of, 341,342
Rudra Biva, no connection of phallic
worship with, 328
Rupamandana, images of Yisnii and
8akti described in, 559 f. ; Ja na
iconography in, 559
Safdar Jang, Nawab of Ondh,
87
Sahasralihga Talav, numerous Biva
temples on banks of, 456
Baka conquest, date of, Mlf.
Baka Era, originator of, 147
8akas and Ku^a nas, 137-152; date of,
137
Saltpetre, Bohras of Gujrat famous
for production of, 681; Govern-
ment’s control over industry of,
681 ff ; Indian industry of, 680-691 ;
result of the Government control
over, 687; Shahjahan’s military
needs of, 682
Samadhi, 54
Samayartana, greater respect shown
to mother after, 827
Samavaya, separate category of, 364
Samkliaras, Avijja and, 113
Bainsarga, explanation of, 265-266
Bamskaras (rituals), position of
mother in Ycdio, 822-830
Samyakatvany ama opinions of Sar-
vastivadins regarding, 803-805
Sankara, date of, 401
Sankara cary a, date of, 593
Sahkararya, terms raja and rajya
exi>lained by, 367
Sahkhayana Grliyasutra, rules of
naming mentioned in, 231
Bantiraksita, criticism of Advaita
doctrine by, 401
Sanskrit works on the game of chess,
275-279
Sarasvatipurana, date of, 457
Barman, Yarman’s father entitled
as, 239
Sarvajiiata, identity of Svarupajnana
with, 291
Sarvajnatman, Bhaskara earlier than,
401
Saivunanda, authorship of Kulatal-
tvarnava attributed to, 562
Sarvastivada, doctrines of Buddhist
school of, 114-120, 799-812; Maitri
and Karuna in doctrines of,
799 ; position of Arhats according
to, 800
Sar va sti v a dins difference of Thera-
vfulins from. Ill
Sasanka, representation of Gaja-
laksmi on coins of, 305
Sasimukhl, Rudramanikya’s estate
managed by, 746
Satabala (Jaina king), father’s statue
erected by, 654 f.
Batakarui, Hatbigumpha inscription
mentioning Khara vela’s, c ampaign
against, 475
Sataraii jakutuhal a (on game of chess),
276
Bata rati jinl, 276
Satkarya-ratnakara, La ksm anarnii n i-
kya’s authorship of. 744
Sa^yanidhi Tirtha, Bhedojjivanu
written by* 704
[ XX ]
& aim aka Karikiis, names derived from
months of birth mentioned in, 240
Saunders (English Governor), Muha-
mmad Ali’s help to, 546ff.
Sculpture (Mediaeval Indian), Wes-
tern School of, 553-Gl
Seleukos, elephants on coins of, 294
Sher Afghan, see Ali Quli Khan.
Sher Shah, land revenue system intro-
duced by, 705ff.
Shih Ghi, account of India contained
in, 490f .
Siddharaja-Saras, identification of,
452-58; Sarasvatlpurana giving
description of, 452-455
Slladitya, Hiuen Tsang’s error about
date of, 533
Silas, Mahasanghika school on nature
of, tlOff.
&ilpa£astras, broad contents of, 555
Simhagiri, identification of, 403
Simhala. Lanka different from, 75G ;
Deccan identified with, 7551.
Singhana, Yadava power restored by,
627ff.
Sinhalese kings, espionage of, 5231.;
military strength of, 516ff.
Aiva, numismatic representation oi,
303
Sivapura, identification of, 751
Siva Parana, relation between Vayu
and, 332tf.
Somadeva, 60,66,68
Some.<vara II, Vikramadityn VI
fought against, 613
Somesvara IV, Caiukya power revived
by, 619ff.
Sophytss, cock on coins of, 294
Soratur, battle of, 624f .
Si addha, respect for mother shown in
rites of, 828
Sri-Gupta, date and identity of, 532ff.
Murshidabad ruled by, 535
Sri Harisa, Harsadeva of Nepal ins-
cription wrongly identified with,
84if.
Srlksetra, father of Mandana, 557
Sriniv&sa (Sarkara), accounts of, 704,
works of, 704
Srinivasa Tlrtha (Bidarahalli), career
of, '01 ; works of, 701-704
Snigeri, list of pontiffs in Matha of,
402
Stavorinus, position of the Dutch
described by, 536ff.
Sthapati, 12
Stupa, origin of, 14-15
Sun, significance of rays of, 7-9
Suras, Vi^vambhara Raya of Bhulua
belonging to the family of, 737
Sure,<vara, Akalanka later than, 401
Surjana (Cahamana king), Surjana-
carita containing account of, 570-
578
Surjanacai ita, contents of, 570-578;
historical kavya by C’andra-
<ekhara, 580
Suttee, earliest sinrti injunction
about, 670; existence among the
princely class the rite of, 675ft.;
Greek accounts ol, 676; Grhja-
siitras silent about, 672; Hero-
dotus about, 675; Mahabharata
mentioning two instances of, 676;
no reference in Manu and Yajna-
\alkya to, 673; no reference in
Vedio literature to the rite ol,
672; Bgveda recommending the
rite oi, 074; symbolical perfor-
mance of, 673tf. ; Thracians per-
forming the rite of, 675
Svabhavokti, distinction between
bhavika and, 797
Svapnavftsavadatta, Bhasa’s original
adapted in available play of, 6331.
Svetavat-alaya, a city, 296; Indra-
pura, identified with, 298, 750
Sword, sacrificial origin ot, 24ff.
Symbolism of the Dome, 1-56
Taila III, condition in Caiukya domi-
nions during the reign of, 513f .
Tanasuli, same as Tosali, 483f.
Tantrasara, Madhvacarya giving
dhyfina-^loka of Hayagriva in, 846
Taqsim-ul-Mulk, meaning of, 768
Tathflgataguhyasfitra, Buddha’s silence
about dbarmas mentioned in, 3f 3,
395
C **i 3
Tirtlnhkaras, symbolic representa-
tions of, 427
Tirumal (king), statue of, 650
Tithitattva, discourse on chess in,
279
Tocharian, affinity of Slav and
Armenian with, 218; dialectical
grouping of, 217-23 ; difference of
Indo-lranian from. 219; original
home of, 221-22; relation of liulo-
Kuropean, Hittite and, 201-223;
Slav and Baltic correspondences
Avith, 220
Todar Mai, Akbar’s land revenue *ys-
tom relormed by, 728-731 ; amount
ol land icvenue in time ol, 72711.;
contribution of Todar Mai to the
Land Revenue System of, 728-731
Tokri Tda (near Mathura), statues ol
historical personages found in, 648
Tsiti, name of China derived from
dynasty of, 330, 381 f.
Ttiu-huaug manuscript, analysis of,
3981’. ; date of, 400 ; exaltation ol
Bodhisattvas in, 399
Cdayagiri and Khaurjagiri Caves,
minor old Brahml inscriptions
in, 158-16G
Cdayagiri Caves, inscriptions in, 158-
164
Upadesatarahgini, Vastupiila’s dona-
tion mentioned in, 425
I’panavana, importance of mother in
rituals of, 826
C nniyati (Kerala princess), svayam-
vara of, 504ff .
Usavadata, moaning of, 138f.
Vacaspati, author of Prakatartha
preceded by, 402
Vaikhanasa-smarta-shtra, rules ol
namakarana in, 235
Vaikuptfia-rijaya, Amaramanikya's
authorship of, 745
Vairajya. etymology of, 371 ; nature
of, 371 L
Vajra, see sword.
Vamadeva, ancestry of, 97 ; associa-
tion of royal titles with, 99f. ;
Mahar&iadhir&Ja as an epithet of,
99 ; ftaiva saint, 96-100 ; same as
Vamasambhu, 97
VamaSambhu, Vamadeva identified
with, 97f.
Vfiraha Grhyasutra, rules for naming
a child in, 233
Yarman, Sarman’s son entitled as,
239
Vasautavilasa, secular pictuies in,
425
Vastupala, contributions towards
copying Jain a works made by, 425
Yasithiputa Siri Pulumayi, 239
Yasudeva Cult, ludra cult superseded
by, 2981.
Yutsyavana, remarriage ol widow
neither enjoined nor prohibited
in, 669
A a\u Purfina, antiquity ol, 331 ; con-
tents ol', 333ff.; dates ol the diffe-
rent chapters in, 334ti\ ; discus-
sion on,331-39; divisions in, 333;
interpolated verses in, 336; later
additions to, 333ff. ; quoted \erses
on Sraddha not found in, 336;
quotations in Nibandhas trom,
322, 335, 337tf. ; similarity be-
tween Markandeya and, 334;
Sivapurana as second name of,
331f . ; verses quoted from, 337-39
Yedas, remarriage of widow mention-
ed in, 663
Yedic literature, Adverbs in, 12lif.
Yelakkiiras, conquest of Ceylon by
Dravidian clan of, 512f.
Vejal, meaning of, 246
Velala, seal of king of, 249
Velalas, Bilavas subdued by, 249;
clouds of, 250f. ; habitat of, 248 ;
identification of mountains be-
longing to, 246ff. ; Mohenjo-daro
inscriptions mentioning names of
245, 255; names of kings of, 250;
practice of sun-worship by, 254f . ;
two sorts of, 249F. ; Volan, the god
of, 252, 253
Yelan=Murugan, 253
Vivaha, functions of mother in time
of, 827
f xin ]
ImvH, etymology ol‘> 665; Indo-
European origin of the word, 661 ;
words in other languages eor res-
ponding to, 661
Yidyadhisa Tlrtha, Appaya Diksit^
criticised by, 694, 618 ; Hit* of, 69b ;
urns conversion to the iaith oi
Madhva in time of, 696ff . ; period
of pontifical rule of, 6941.; works
of, 697t.
Vidya&tiikara, identification oi, 406
Yigraharaja 11, Barappa oi Lata
defeated by, 845,
Vigrahavyavartani, kusaladharmas in
Nagarjima’s commentary on,
814
Vijjika, authorship oi Kaumudi-
mahotsava attributed to, 5^3, 603,
606, identity oi, 603t. ; date oi,
605
Vijfmnakaxas, \iews of San astividuis
about, 811
Vikhyatavijaya, description of, 744
Vikramaditya VI, Somesvara II oxer-
thrown by, 613
Yilasamauimanjarl, game of chess
dealt with in, 278
Yimftna^Ratka, 3, 10
Viraja, meaning of, 372
Vimna (Sanskrit), division oi, 410
Yinaya Pitaka, Gilgit manuscripts of,
409-424 ;Sanskrit te\t of first four
leaves of, 411-424
VKe$&s* difference between visesas of
Nyaya school and Madhva’s cate-
gory of, 364; Madbva’s assump-
tion of, 356f. ; nature of, 365
Visuu, variety of forms of, 558ft,
Visousmrti, earliest injunction of
suttee in, 676
Vis'vakarma, I2f.
Yisvambhara Raya, date of, 737;
foundation of kingdom at llhulua
by, 737
ViWvara, genealogy of, 882; id«tt8S
of, 350 ^
Visve£varabha|ta, ancestry of* S4&;
authorities quoted by, 349f . ; d«rt$
of composition of, 248; Niir^eya*
kaustubha of, 345 52
Vrddhi Sraddha, honour shown to
mother in ceremony of, 829
Vyadi, draxvas and jatia according lo r
2b2, A r ajapyayana differs in view#
iroin, 261ft. , xvork of, 261
Vyadi and Yajapya>ana, HeiaW*$$
refers to difference iu xiexxs
263ft., interpretation oi bhjju
and 'Hnnwtqa b>, 263ft.
Y$ a sara> a M a \ li a , Ra max and* a
Tirtha as pontiff ot, 692
Widow, brother-in-law's marriage
with, 670; eonflittiug statements
iu Manu and Parasara on £ re-
marriagool, 667ff,, inauspiciOus-
ncss ol, 678, prevalence <jj| re-
marriage oi, 663, reference^ in
Jatakas to remarriage ol, 670;
rigid rules* for, 662 , sastras On re-
marriage of, 665-68
Wu Ti, Chang Ohien sent to Yue-t*hi
bj, 492f.
Yadaxas, struggle hctxveen ilaia-
ouryas, Calukyas and, 614ff. {
Yajnavalkya, meaning of caityas ac-
cording to, 447
Yantrapata (Jain mystic diagram),
description ol illustration con-
tained in, 427ff.
Vaugandharayana, Bhasa’s original
adopted in available pky^of, 6361 .
Yax anaparipa ti- A ^ 153-57 ,
analysis ol, lSSlflf<or of, 156;
contents of, l£f8; date of, 156;
divisions of, 153; kinds of deeds
mentioned in, 154
Zabti, Akbar’s adoption ol system of,
709S.
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CONTENTS
Pace
Symbolism of the Dome
By Dr. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, D.Sc.
On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara
... 57
By S. Rangachar, m.a.
Raja Ramnarain
... 74
By Prof. S. H. Askari, m.a., b.l.
Vamadeva the Saiva Saint
By Dr. Dines Chandra Sircar, m.a., ph.d.
... 96
Some Folk Goddesses of Ancient and Medieval India
By Jitendra Nath Banerjea, m.a.
... 101
Doctrines of the Mahasnghika School of Buddhism
By Dr. Nalinaksha Dutt, m.a., ph.d. d.litt.
... IIO
Doctrines of the Sarvastivada School of Buddhism
By Dr. Nalinaksha Dutt, m.a., ph.d., d.litt.
... 114
Adverbs in - taram , tararn
By Dr. L. Renou, ph.d.
Miscellany:
... I 2 I
Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas
••• ] 37
By Dr. Sten Konow, ph.d.
Y avanaparipati — Anukrama
By M. M. Patkar
Minor Old Brahmi Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and
••• T 53
Khandagiri Caves
By Dr. B. M. Barua, m.a., d.litt.
Medieval Indo-Persian Literature relating to Hindu
... 158
Science and Philosophy, 1000 — 1800 A.D. ...
By Dr. A. B. M. Habibullab, m.a., ph.d.
... 167
[ii]
Page
Reviews:
Concepts of Buddhism ... ... ... 182
By Prof. Dr. A. Bernedale Keith, m.a., d.c.l.
Brhattara Bharater Puja Parvan ... ... ... 184
By Dr. Kalidas Nag, m.a., litt.d.
A Guide to Fatehpur Sikri ... ... ... 185
By Dr. A. B. M. Habibullah, m.a.. ph.d.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals: ... 186
Bibliographical Notes: ... ... ...193
The Indian Historical Quarterly
Vol. XIV March, 1938 No. 1
Symbolism of the Dome
Part I
The origin of any structural form can be considered either from
an archaeological and technical or from a logical and aesthetic, or
rather cognitive, point of view; in other words, either as fulfilling
a function or as expressing a meaning. We hasten to add that
these are logical, not real distinction : function and significance
coincide in the form of the work; however, we may ignore the one
or the other in making use of the work as a thing essential to the
active life of the body or dispositive to the contemplative life of the
spirit.
Inasmuch as we are here mainly concerned with significance,
we need not emphasize the importance in architectural history of
the problem presented by the superposition of a domed (or barrel-
vaulted) roof upon a rectangular base, nor go into the question of
how, where homogeneous materials such as mud or wattle were in
use, this was originally very simply solved (and even more easily in
the case of a tent of skins or woven material) by a gradual oblitera-
tion of the angles as the walls were built up; and how subsequently
where stone or brick was employed, the same problem was solved
in two ways structurally, either by spanning (trabeation, squinches)
or by building forward from the angles (corbelling, pendentives).
We propose to ask rather why than how “the square chamber is
obliged to forsake its plan and strain forward to meet the round
2
Symbolism of the Dome
dome in which it must terminate”, 1 and whether it is altogether
accidentally, so to speak, that our domes “appear to have been
destined to symbolise the passage from Unity to quadrature through
the mediation of the triangle of the squinches”; 2 3 4 and why in the
north porch of the Erectheion “immediately above the trident-mark
(of Poseidon) an opening in the roof had been purposely left."' 1
We might have expressed the problem otherwise by asking “Why
should the walls of a tepee or sides of a pyramid contract towards a
common point in which their independent existence ceases?”; or
again, in the case of a dome supported by pillars, by asking, “Why
should these pillars either actually (as in the case of certain bamboo
constructions) or virtually (as is evident if we consider the arch as a
dome in cross-section) converge towards the common apex of their
separated being, which apex is in fact their 'key’}”
In this matter of procedure from unity to quadrature there is
something analogous to the work of the three Rbhus in making
four cups out of Tvastr’s one. These Rbhus compose a triad of
“artists”, 1 who are described as “Men of the interspace, or air”
( antariksasya narah ), and are said to have quartered the Titan’s cup
(camasam, patram ), “as it were measuring out a field” ( ksetram iva
vi mamuh, Rv. I. i io. 3-5). The reference is undoubtedly to the
1 E. Schroeder, in an article to appear in the Survey of Persian Art . In a
consideration of the successive courses of the elevation, Mr. Schroeder also remarks that
“the four zones suggest in their succession a series of metaphysical concepts whose
progression has been the concern of contemplatives from Pythagoras to St. Thomas:
first individuality or multiplicity, secondly conflict and pain, next unanimity, consent
and peace, and finally unification, loss of individuality, beatitude”
2 J. H. Probst-Biraben, “Symbolisme des arts plastiques dc l’Occidcnt et du
Proche-Orient,” Le Voile d’lsis (now Etudes Tradttionelles) vol. 40, 1935, p. 16.
3 J. Harrison, Themis , p. 92.
4 Rbhu, from rabh (cf. labh), as in arabh to “undertake” “fashion” and
rambha, a “prop”, “post” “support”. In Rv. X, 125, 8 arambbamana bhuvanani visva ,
“fashioning all the worlds, the universe” embodies the meaning also of setting up all
the houses.”
Symbolism of the Dome
3
primordial act of creation by which a “place” is prepared for those
who are eager to emerge from the antenatal tomb, to escape the
bonds of Varuna. Attention may be called to the expression vi
mamuh, from vi ma, to “measure out” or “lay out”, and hence to
“plan” or even “construct”. The root with its prefix occurs
notably in the word vimana which often coincides with rat ha
(chariot) as the designation of what is at once the “palace” and the
“vehicle” of the Gods (i.e. the revolving universe), 5 6 and which
occurs in Rv. chiefly in connection with the creative determination
of “space” (antariksa, rajas'), for example in V. 41. 3 where Soma-
pusana, described as the Poles of the Universe, are besought to
“urge your chariot hitherward, the seven-wheeled chariot that
measures out the region” (rajaso vimanam...ratham ), that is to say,
are asked to bring into being an inhabitable space. In countless
texts we find vi ma employed in this way with respect to the deli-
mitation of space, the laying out of “abodes of cosmic order”
(rtasya dhama ), and the determination of the “measure of the sacri-
fice” (yajhasya mat ram) which is again an aspect of the act of crea-
tion. In V. 81. 3 it is the Sun himself that “measures out the
chthomc regions” {parthivam vi mame. . .rajamsi deva savita), i.e. the
“grounds ’ of the seven worlds; or otherwise expressed, it is Varuna
who “employing the Sun as his rule, measures out the earth”
maneneva. . .vi. . .{mame prthivim siiryena, V. 85. 5);*’ and we may
5 Hence it is that actual temples, as at Konaraka, may be provided with wheels
and represented as drawn by horses; and it is from the same point of view that
their movable images are carried in procession on chariots, drawn by men or horses,
of which the most familiar example is that of the annual procession of the “Lord of
the World” (Jagannatha) at Puri. That the universe is thought of as a house not
only in a spatial but also in a temporal sense is seen in Satapatha Br., I, 66. i. 19.
“He alone wins the Year who knows its doors, for what were he to do with a house
who cannot find his way inside?”
6 Similarly Matiri Up., VI, 6, “The eye of Prajapati’s crudest form, his cosmic
body, is the Sun: for the Persons great dimensioned world ( matrah ) depends upon
the eye, since it is with the eye that he moves about amongst dimensioned things”
.4
Symbolism of the Dome
say in the words of Genesis II. i, that “thus the heavens and the
earth were finished, and all the host of them”.
Our citations above have been chosen in part to bring out the
connection of the Sun with the act of creative delimitation by which
the Three (or Seven, or Thrice Seven) Worlds are made actual.
For we must assume from Rv. I. 1 10.3 and 5 that the “Asura’s cup”
made fourfold by the Rbhus is really the “platter” or disc (patra =
mandala) of the Sun (or rather, ante principium, that of the United
Sun and Moon, Heaven and Earth, coincident in the beginning as
they are at the end of time) : we remark not merely the appositional
sequence “Savitr (the Sun). . .him-that-may-not-be-hidden. . .this only
feeding vessel of the Titan (Father)” (savita. . .agohyam. . .camasam
asurasya bhaksanam ekam santam, I. 110.3, with pa tram for cama-
sam, in verse 5)' and in Av. X. 8. 9 “bowl wherein is set the glory
(matrah) literally “measured things’', and hence the material world of measurable
things, or whatever occupies space.
It may be remarked that although we began with the case of the dome on a
square base, the spatial principles involved are the same in the case of a circular
base, since any “field” is determined in two dimensions. Heaven and earth are
generally thought of as wheels or circles ( cakra)\ but in the Satapatha Br. XIV. 3.
1. 17 the Sun is “four-cornered, for the quarters are his corners”, and ib. VI. 1. 2. 29
the earth is similarly “four-cornered, and that is why the bricks (of the altar) are like-
wise four-cornered.”
The Axis of the Universe according to the texts or as represented is usually
cylindrical or four or eight-angled : early Indian pillars usually cither cylindrical or
eight-angled. We might also have discussed the symbolism of these pillars, and
similarly that of the palace supported by a single pillar ( ekathambhaka-pasada ), but
will merely cite as parallel “Every column in those Achaemenid palaces was an
emblem of the sun-god to which the king of kings might look up” (Roes, Greek
Geometric Art , Oxford, 1933).
7 Camasam (= patram ) bhaksanam , the solar “Grail” as an all- wish-fulfilling
feeding- vessel; regarded either as himself the “enjoyer” or as the Titan’s (Varuna’s)
“means of enjoyment”, just as we speak of the eye as “seeing” or as the “means of
vision.” The Titan Father’s bowl, which is also his “eye” (Rv. I. 50. 5-7, X. 82. 1,
X. 88. 13, Av. X. 7. 33. etc.) provides whatever “food” 1 may be desired, precisely
inasmuch as it is the solar orb, paten, or platter which envisages and thus partakes
of all things at once; in which sense it is that “The Sun with his five rays feeds
5
Symbolism of the Dome
ommform (camasa. . .yasmin yaso nihitam visvartipam), but also the
later designation of the sun-door as an “entrance covered over by the
gclden platter of truth’’ ( hiranyamayena patrena satyasyapihitam
mtikham ), 8 Isa Up. 15, cf. faiminiya Up. Br. I. 3. 6).
It is then, by means of the Sun, often described as the Titan’s
“eye”, that He surveys, experiences, and “feeds upon” the worlds
of contingent being under the Sun, which are in the power of
Death, and properly His food; by means of the Sun that these worlds
are in the first place “measured out”, or “created”. It is just this
that is implied in the work of the Rbhus, who make of the single
upon the objects of sense-perception’' ( vtsayan atti , Mattn Up VI. 31, cf. pippalam
atti, Rv. I. 164. 20), i.e. “When as the Lord of Immortality he rises up by
food” ( amrtatvasyesano yad annena ahrohati, Rv. X. 90. 2 = “comes eating and drink-
ing”); which rays are “the far seeing rays of Varuna”, Rv. X. 41. 9, “five” if we
consider the four quarters and central orb, “seven” if we also consider the
zenith and nadir, or more indefinitely “a hundred and one”, of which the hundred
and first is again the central orb. The bowl is not, as some have suggested, die
Moon, — “The Person in the orb is the eater, the Moon his food The Moon is
the food of die gods” (SB. X. 5. 2. 18 and I. 6. 4. 5), “The Sun is the eater, the
Moon his dues. When this pair unites, it is termed the eater, not the food” (SB. X.
6 2. 3 and ^|). It is of course as “world” or “universe”, all that is “under the sun”,
that the Moon is his “meat”. The very “life of Varuna, the Fisher King, the deity
ab rntra , otherwise inert and impotent, depends upon this Grail as the eternal means
of his rejuvenation and procession. And this solar Grail is the prototype of every
sacrificial paten. For the Grail motif in the Indian tradition, and the Buddha’s
bowl as a Grail, see my Yaksas, Pt. II, pp. 37-42, 1931 (new edition in preparation).
8 Mukha, “entrance”, “gateway”, as in Jaimwiya Up. Br III. 33. 8 “The
comprehensor thereof, frequenting in the spirit both these classes of divinities (Gale,
Fire, Moon, Sun as transcendent and as immanent), the Gate receives him” ( yidvan
eta ubhayir devata dtmany etya , mukha adatte)\ ib . IV. 11. 5 “I (Agn») am
the Gate of the Gods” ( aham devanam mukham asmi)\ Aitareya Br. III. 42, “Agni
ascended, reaching the sky, he opened the door of the world of heaven” ( svargasya
lokasya dvararri). For mukha as the gateway of a city or fort see Kautilya Arthasastra,
II, Ch. 21, and the plan in Eastern Art, II, 1930, PL CXXII, the “mouth” of the
gateway is approached by a bridge of “concourse” (samkrama) which spans the moat,
so that whoever enters may be said to have reached the “farther shore”. There is
accordingly a solar symbolism of gateways and of bridges and bridge-builders (cf.
“Pontiff”).
6
Symbolism of the Dome
solar “platter’’ four of the like sort, by which we can only under-
stand four solar stations, representing the limits of the solar motion
in the four directions (motion daily from East to West and back
again, and annually from South to North and back again). It will
then be a matter of obtaining “food from all four quarters’’ ( Pahca -
vimsa Br. XV. 3. 25): this may seem from a human point of view
a great thing, but it can be easily seen that it is far more in accord-
ance with the dignity of the divine unity to obtain all possible kinds
of “nourishment” from a single source, a veritable cup of plenty,
than to obtain these varied foods from widely extended sources : what
Tvastr resents is in effect the partition of his central unity involved
by an extension in the four directions. If all this is attributed in
Rv. either to the Deity in person, or alternatively to a subsequently
deified triad of “artists”, this can only be understood to mean
that the latter are collectively the three dimensions of space, and in
this sense “powers” whose operation is indispensable to the exten-
sion of any horizontal “field” in terms of the four quarters: it is in
fact only by means of the three dimensions that an original “one”
can be made “four”, “like a field” ( ksetram\ iva ), and it is in this
sense that we proceed from unity to quadrature by means of a
triangle. 9 The converse procedure is given in the well-known miracle
9 This holds good also in the analogous case of the four-fold partition of the
vajra (made by Tvastr, given to Indra, and with which he smites the Dragon, Rv.
I, 85. 9, etc.), inasmuch as the four parts arc to be wielded, jr otherwise moved,
Satapatha Br . i. 2. 4.
The coronate and royal Buddha types of the Mahayana iconography characteris-
tically hold the begging bowl, and represent (1) the Buddha as Cakravartin, or
King of the World, and (2) the Sambhogakaya or Body of Beatitude (Mus, “Le
Ijhiddha pare,” BEFEO., 1928, pp. 274, 277). Now we suggest that sam in sam~
fyhoga has the value “completely” or “absolutely” rather than that of in company
|nith”; sambhoga is not (in these contexts) and eating “together with others”, but an
lall-eating” in a sense analogous to that of ‘all-knowing’, cf. sam-bodhi, sam-vid, sam-
4 -kr etc. The bowl is more than the simple patta in which a wandering monk
<|>llects his food from here or there, it is a punna patta , a “full bowl”, furnished with
|ll kinds of food; and the story seems to assert unmistakeably that His body who
7
Symbolism of the Dome
o£ the Buddha’s begging-bowl fpatta = -patra, Jataka I. 80); that the
Buddha receives four bowls from the Kings of the Four Quarters,
and making of these four one bowl eats from it, implies an involu-
tion of space, and what is evidently and literally an atonement of
what had been done by the Rbhus. For the Buddha, now a unified
being, the Grail is once more as it had been in the beginning and for
Tvastr, single.
Thus considered, the “myth” of the Rbhus may be called a
paraphrase of a more usual formula according to which the Sun is
described as seven-rayed; 1 " of which seven, six represent the arms of
the three-dimensional Cross of spiritual Light (trivrd vajra ) by which
the universe is at once created and supported. 1 1 Of the six rays,
cats from it is no mere hay a, but the Sambhogakaya or Body of Omnifruition. M.
Mus, approaching the problem from another angle, has reached the same conclusion,
that the term sambhoga implies a perfect, universal, and effortless fruition; pointing
out at the same time that anabhoga, meaning “not relying upon any external source
of nourishment”, naturally coincides with sambhoga in one and the same subject,
and implies a self-subsistence of which the Sun is an evident image ( Barabndur ,
p. 659). My own interpretation of the atonement of the four bowls merely con-
firms these deductions.
10 From other points of view, of course, the Sun can be regarded as having one,
four, five, eight, nine, or a “thousand” rays; eight, for example, w»th respect to the
four quarters and four half-quarters on a given plane of being.
11 A fuller discussion of the Vedic “Cross of Light”, of which the arms are
the pathways of the Spirit, must be undertaken elsewhere. In the meantime, for the
expression trivrd vajra, see Jalmintya Br. I. 247 “The procession of the threefold
spear perpetually coincides with that of these worlds” ( trivrd vajro harahar iman
lokan anuvartata)\ for the “best ray” ( param bhls, jyestha rasmi, cf. jyotisam jyotis,
“light of lights”) see Satapatha Br. I. 9. 3. 10 with Mahidhara’s commentary,
together with Jaimintya Up. Br. I. 30. 4 yat param atibhati tam abhyati-
mucyate; and for the sutratman doctrine, Rv. I. 115. 1, Av. X. 8. 37-38, Satapatha
Bt. VI. 7. 1. 17 and VIII. 7. 3.10, where the Sun is said to “string these worlds to
Himself by the thread of the Gale of the Spirit” and to be the “point of attachment”’
( asanjanam ) to which these worlds are bound by means of the six directions, cf. in
Av. X. 7. 42 the concept of the universal warp of being as fastened by six pegs or
rays of light ( tantram sanmayiikham)\ and Bhagavad Gita, VII. 7 and X. 20.
It may be added that similar ideas are clearly expressed in the apocryphal Acts of
John, 98-99 and Acts of Peter, XXXVIII.
8
Symbolism of the Dome
those which correspond to the Zenith and Nadir coincide with our
Axis o£ the Universe ( skambha , divo dharuna , etc.), Islamic Qutb,
and Gnostic stauros, while those which correspond to North and
South, East and West, determine the extension of any horizontal
plane or u world” ( loka , precisely as the locus of a specific ensemble
of possibilities), for example, that of each of the seven worlds con-
sidered as a given plane of being. The seventh ray alone passes
To avoid all possibility of confusion, it must be emphasized that the position of
the Sun in the universe is in the Vedic tradition always at the centre, and not at
the top of the universe, although always above and at the “Top of the Tree’', when
considered from any point within the universe. How this is will be readily under-
stood if we consider the universe as symbolised by the wheel, of which
the centre is the Sun and the felly any ground of being. From any one position
on the felly it will be seen that the Axis of the Universe, which pillars apart Heaven
and Earth, is a radius of the circle and a ray of the Sun, occupying what is from
our point of view the zenith, but from the solar point of view the
nadir; while from an exactly opposite position on the felly, the same
will hold good. The Axis of the Universe is represented then by what
in the diagram is actually a diameter, made up of what is frcm any one point
of view a nadir and a zenith, in other words, the axis passes geometrically through
the Sun. It is in quite another than this geometric sense that the “seventh ray”
passes through the Sun, viz. into an undimensioned beyond, which is not contained
within the dimensioned circle of the universe. The prolongation of this seventh ray
beyond the Sun is accordingly incapable of any geometric representation; from our
point of view it ends in the Sun, and is the disc of the Sun, through which we
cannot gaze, otherwise than in the spirit, and not by any means either physically or
psychically. To this “ineffable” quality of the prolongation of the “Way” beyond
the Sun correspond the Upanisad and Buddhist designations of the continuing brahma -
patha as “non-human” ( amanava ) and as “uncommunicable or “untaught”
(asaiksa), and the whole doctrine of “Silence” (see my “Vedic doctrine of Silence”,
Etudes Traditionelles, 42, 1937. The essential distinction of this seventh ray
9
Symbolism of the Dome
through the Sun to the supra-solar Brahma worlds “where no sun
shines” (all that is under the Sun being in the power of Death, and
all beyond “immortal”); and is represented accordingly in any dia-
gram by the point at which the arms of the three-dimensional
cross interesect, or as Mahidhara expresses it, “the seventh ray is the
solar orb itself”. It is by this “best ray”, the “one foot” of the
Sun, that the “heart” of each and every separated essence is directly
connected with the Sun: and it will prove to be significant dn^our
interpretation of the summit of the dome that when the separated
essence can be thought of as returned to the centre of its own being
on whatever plane of being that this seventh ray will evidently coin-
cide with the axis of the Universe. In the case of the Buddha’s
“First Meditation”, 12 it is evidently just because he is for the time
being completely reverted and thus analogically situated at the
“navel of the earth ” the nether pole of the Axis, that the Sun
above him casts an unmoving shadow, while the shadows of other
trees than the one under which he is seated change their place. We
need hardly say that the position of the Axis of the Universe is a
universal and not a local position: the “navel of the earth” is
“within you”, else it were impossible to “build up Agni intellec-
tually”, as the Satafatha Brahmana expresses what is formulated in
Christianity as the “bringing to birth of Christ in the soul”. In
the same way the centre of every habitation is analogically the
centre, an* hypostasized centre, of the world, and immediately
from the other spatial rays (which also corresponds to the distinction of trans-
cendent from immanent and of infinite from finite) is clearly marked in symbolic
representations, of which we give two illustrations, respectively Hindu and Christian.
The seven-rayed Sun (a) as represented on Indian punch-marked coins, after
Allan, Early Indian Coins (British Museum, 1936), and (b) from the Nativity in the
church of San Matorano in Sicily. In (b) the long shaft of the seventh ray extends
downward from the Sun to the Bambins in the cradle.
12 Jataka I, 58," cf. Chandagya Up., III. 8. 10, where for the Sadhya deities the
Sun rises always in the zenith and sets in the nadir, — and can therefore,' so far as
they are concerned, cast only a fixed shadow.
MARCH,, 1938
2
io Symbolism of the Dome
underlies the similarly hypostasized centre of the sky at what is the
other pole of the Axis at once of the edifice and of the universe it
represents.
Every house is therefore the universe in a likeness, and provided
with an analogous content: as M. Mus expresses it ‘‘The House
and the World are two equivalent sums... The family living in it is
the image of the countless crowd of creatures dwelling in the shelter
ol : the cosmic house: of which the ceiling or roof is heaven, light,
and sun”. The work of the architect is really an ‘‘imitation of
nature in her manner of operation”: the several houses reflect in
their accidents the peculiarity of as many builders, but are essen-
tially ‘‘so many hypostases of one and the same world and all toge-
ther possess but one and the same reality, that of this universal
world ”. 13
What we have said with respect to the house applies with equal
force to many other constructions, of which we may cite the chariot
as a notable example. No less precisely than the house, the chariot
reproduces the constitution of the universe in luminous detail. The
human vehicle is an exemplary likeness of the cosmic vehicle or
body in which the course is run from darkness to light, from endless
end to endless end of the universe, conceived at once in terms of
.space (and in this sense as stable) and in terms of time (as the Year,
and in this sense revolving ). 14 The paired wheels of this cosmic
♦
13 Mus, P., “Barabudur: Esquisse d’une Histoire du Bouddhisme fondee sur
la critique archeologique des textes”, in course of publication in BEFEO 1932 f.
Passages quoted above are from Part V, pp. 125, 207, 208.
Cf. H. Kern, Histoire du Bouddhisme dans Unde, Paris, 1903, II, p. 154, “The
true Dhatugarbha of the Adi-Buddha, in other words the Creator, Brahma, is the
Brahmanda, the world-egg, container of all the elements (dhatu) and which is divided
into two halves by the horizon. This is the real Dhatugarbha (receptacle of the
elements): the constructions are only an imitation of it”.
14 See the excellent discussion of the cosmic chariot and its micro-cosmic
replicas, and the demonstration of the analogy of cosmic and human processions in
Mus, loc . cit . p. *229
II
Symbolism of the Dome
vehicle or universal incarnation of the Spirit, its driver, are respect-
ively Heaven and Earth, at once divided and united by the axle-tree,
on which the revolution of the wheels takes place (Rv. X. 89. 4).
This axle-tree is the same thing as our Axis of the Universe, and
trunk of the Tree, and the informing principle of the whole con-
struction. The division of the wheels which is the act of creation,
brings into being a space within which the individually proceeding
principles are borne on their way; while their reunion, realised by
the charioteer when he returns from the circumference to the centre
of his own being, is the rolling up of time and space, leaving only
a single wheel in principle (Dante’s prima rota), of which the hub is
that solar gate “through the midst of which one escapes altogether”
( atimucyate , faiminiya Up. Br. I. 3. 5) from the revolving cosmos
into an uncontained empyrean. Nothing will be changed in prin-
ciple if we take account in the same way of the exemplary likeness
of ships to the cosmic Ship of Life in which the Great Voyage is
undertaken; the deck corresponding to the surface of the earth, the
mast coinciding with the vertical axis of the house and axle-tree of
the chariot, while the “crow’s nest” corresponds to the seat of the
all-seeing Sun above.
All that we have implied, here and elsewhere, with respect
to the imitation of heavenly prototypes in human works of art, and
the conception of the arts themselves as a body of transmitted know-
ledge of ultimately superhuman origin, can be applied equally to
the case of the artificer himself just as also in Christian philosophy
there is taken for granted an exemplary likeness of the human archi-
tect to the Architect of the World, and as indeed the consistency of
the doctrine requires. If we consider such an architectural treatise
as the Manasara, we find in the first place clear evidence of a direct
dependence upon Vedic sources, for example, in the statement that
the master-architect ( sthapati ) and also his three companions or assist-
ants, the surveyor ( sutra-grabt i), the builder and painter (vardbaki),
12
Symbolism of the Dome
and carpenter ( taksaka ) are required, by way of professional qualifi-
cation, .to be acquainted both with the Vedas and with their acces-
sory, sciences (sthapatih . . .uedavic-chastra-paragah , loc. cit. II. 13 and
f.), and in such verses, as “It is through the Sun that the Earth
becomes the support of all beings” (ib. III. 7), evidently an echo of
Rv. V. 85. 5 cited above. 15 Furthermore, “It has been said by the
Lord himself that he is the All-fashioner (Visvakarma)”,. ib. II. 2:
and it is from his four “faces” that are descended the quartet of
architects mentioned above, who are moreover called “all-fashioners”
after him (ib. II. 5). It may be added that evidently the “four
architects” correspond to the four ritual priests of the sacrifice, the
sthapati in particular to that one who is styled pre-eminently the
Brahmana, as distinguished from the others by his greater know-
ledge, without which their operation would be defective. In our
Medieeval Sinhalese Art we have called attention to the sacerdotal
and regal functions performed even by the modern sthapati in
Ceylon. A similar analogy could be drawn between the “four archi-
tects” on the one hand, and the Sun or solar Indra with his parti-
cular associates, the Rbhus. And finally, the designation of the
master-architect as sthapati immediately suggests vi.. .atisthipah in
Rv. I. 56. 5-6, where it is a matter of the architectural construction
of the universe, with its axial “pillar of heaven” (divo dhamnam, cf.
IX. 73. 7 where Soma as the Tree of Life is ahamnah mahah divah,
“the great stauros of the sky”), and rigid crossbeam (tiro dharunam
acyutam ) : sthapati and atisthipah being equally causative forms of
stha in the sense “to set up”. Rv. I. 56 at the same time makes a
direct connection between the construction of the universe and the
smiting of the Serpent, Ahi-Vrtra, the significance of which will
appear later. We may say that just as much as the sacrifice itself,
(a synthesis of all the arts), every artistic operation, as such operation
15 Cf. VIII. 26. 18 “He (Sun) hath measured out with history the boundaries
of Heaven and Earth”.
*3
Symbolism of the Dome
is envisaged by tradition, is an imitation of what was done by the
Gods in the beginning.
The questions of the Rbhus and of the Cross of Light have
been introduced into our discussion of the principles of sacred archi-
tecture (from the traditional point of view, there is nothing that can
be defined as essentially or wholly secular) primarily in order to pro-
vide a background illustrative of the manner in which the problems
of spatial extension and construction have been traditionally ap-
proached. Our method of approach is based upon the fact that
the technical problem as such only presents itself when there has
already been imagined a form to be realised in the material.
Whether we have in view a spatial universe or a human construc-
tion, the idea of a space to be enclosed between a vault above and a
plane below must be assumed in the mind of the architect logically
prior to any actual becoming of the work to be done; which priority
will be merely logical in the case of the Divine Architect, but must
be also temporal in the case of the human builder who proceeds from
potentiality to act. And prior to this formal cause, with the same
reservations, there must be assumed a final cause or purpose of the
construction to be undertaken, the artist always working both per
artem et ex voluntate. The same will hold good whether we take
account of the house of the body, a constructed dwelling, or the
universe as a whole. )ust as formally considered there is a corres-
pondence between the human body , 16 human building, and whole
world, so there is also a teleological correspondence : all these construc-
tions have as their practical function to shelter individual principles
16 With its interior cell, die “lotus of the heart, indwelt by the Golden Person
of the Sun” ( Maitri Up. VI. 2), “ever seated in the heart of creatures” ( Katha Up.
VI. 17), the “all-containing city of Brahman” ( Chandogya Up. VIII. 1. 6), “con-
stance of Indra and Indrani” Heaven and Earth) ( Brbadaranyaka Up. IV. 2. 3, Maitri
Up. VII. 11). We shall see later that it is from the apex of this house of the
body or heart that the indwelling Spirit emerges when its connection (. samyoga ) with
the individual-body-and-soul is severed.
14 Symbolism of the Dome
on their way from one state of being to another to provide, in other
words, a field of experience in which they can “become what they
are”. The concepts of creation (means) and of redemption (end)
are complementary and inseparable : the Sun is not merely the archi-
tect of space, but also the liberator of all things thereinto (which
would otherwise remain in an obscurity of mere potentiality), and
finally of all things therefrom.
It can be said with respect to any of these houses to which we
have referred that one enters into the provided environment at its
lowest level (at birth) and departs from it at its highest level (at
death); or in other words that ingress is horizontal, egress vertical
(these are the two directions of motion on the wheel of life, respect-
ively peripheral and centripetal). If this is not empirically evident
iii all respects , 17 this is nevertheless an accurate presentation of the
traditional concept of the passage of any individual consciousness
through any “sapce”; and this is a matter of importance, because
it is precisely in the notion of a vertical egress that we shall find an
explanation of the symbolism of our domes.
We are not then disposed to enquire whether or not, or
whether to some extent, the form of a stupa may or may not have
For a corresponding analogy of die inward and outward “cells”, sec William of
Thierry, Epistle to the Brethren of Mont Dieu, Ch. 28 “Thou hast one cell without,
anodier within. The outward cell is the house wherein thy soul and thy body dwell
together; the inward is diy conscience ( conscientia , “consciousness”, “inward con-
troller”, antaryamin), which ought to be dwelt in by God (who 's more inward than
all thy inward parts) and by thy spirit” (sc. antaratman ) ; cited from Shewring’s
; Version, London, 1930, p. 51.
j 17 Our allusion is in fact to the metaphysical identification of woman with the
jj household fire (garhapatya ) and of the act of insemination with that of a ritual offer-
I ing in this fire; for which see Jaiminiya Br. I. 17 ( JAOS ., XIX. 115-116) and
I (Brhadaranyaka Up. VI. 4. 1-3). Considered from this point of view all birth is from
I fire. Man’s first birth is his liberation from an antenatal hell; he enters at birth
£ into' a purgatorial space; and being laid in the sacrificial fire at death, is regenerated
■ through the Sun; his earthly motions are horizontal, his spiritual ascent vertical, by
way of. the stauros, under whatever aspect this pillar may be represented.
Symbolism of the Dome
l 5
been derived from that of a tumulus or domed hut (we agree in fact
with M. Mus in rejecting such a theory of origins), but rather to
seek for what may be called the common formal principle that finds
expression equally in all of these and in other related constructions.
We propose to consider the architectural form primarily as an ima-
gined ( dhyalam ) 18 form, referring its “origin” rather to “Man”
universally, in whom the artist and the patron are one essence, that
to this or- that man individually. It need hardly be said that the
traditional theory of art, and the Indian tradition in particular, in-
variably assume an “intellectual operation” (actus primus') preceding
the artist s manual operation. We have discussed this elsewhere in
connection with the later sources, 19 but may remark that the prin-
ciple is clearly expressed in Indian texts from the beginning by the
constant employment of the roots dhi or dhyai 20 and cit or cint in
connection with all kinds of constructive operation, such as the fa-
shioning of an incantation or that of a chariot or altar. For example,
in Rv. III. 2. i the priests are said to bring Agni anigh “by con-
templation” ( dhiya ), “even as it is by contemplation that the tool
gives form to the chariot” : Av. X. i. 8 where we find the image
“even as by a Rbhu the parts of a chariot are put together, by means
of a contemplation” (dhiya): and Satapatha Br. VI, 2. 3. 1 (and
passim) where in connection with the building of the Fire Altar;
whenever the builders are at a loss, not knowing how to build up the
next course of the structure, we find a sequence of words in which
18 Just as in connection with painting we find the instruction tad dhyatam
hhittau nivesayet, “Put down on the wall what has been imagined” ( Abhilasitartha -
cintamani, I. 3. 158).
19 “The intellectual operation in Indian art”, fourn. Indian Sec. Or. Art, III,
pp. 1-12, 1935; “The technique and theory of Indian painting”, Technical Studies,
III, pp. 59-89, 1934. The transformation of nature in art, Cambridge, 1935.
20 Dhi as noun is not so much merely “thought”, but specifically contemplatio,
theoria, ars, prognosis; and dhira not merely “wise” but specifically “contemplative”
and tantamount to yogi, especially in the sense in which the latter term is some-
times applied to artists.
16 Symbolism of the Dome
they are enjoined to “contemplate” ( cetayadhvam ) and are then des-
cribed as “seeing” ( apasyan ) the required form. It is thus not by
means of the empirical faculties, nor so to say experimentally, but
intellectually that the formal cause is apprehended in an imitable
form. We are considering the dome accordingly primarily as a
work of the imagination, and only secondarily as a technical achieve-
ment.
Man has always, in a manner that we have tried to indicate
above, correlated his own constructions with cosmic or supramun-
dane prototypes. As Plotinus expresses it, “The crafts such as
building and carpentry which give us matter in wrought forms may
be said, in that they draw on pattern, to take their principles from
that realm and from the thinking there” ( Enneads , V. 9. 11). For
example, the Indian seven-storeyed palace (prasada) with its various
floors or “earths” (bhumi) has always been thought of as analo-
gous to the universe of seven worlds; and one mounts to the top
storey as if to the summit of contingent being ( hhavdgra ), just as
the Sun ascends the sky and from his station in the zenith surveys the
universe. It has been pointed out by Mus, in his magnificent
monograph on Barabudur, from which we have quoted above, that
the stupa, particularly when monolithic, is essentially a domed form
rather than a domed construction, and therefore, necessarily to be
understood rather from a symbolic than from a practically functional
point of view; it represents a universe in parvo, the abode of a person
who has passed away, analogous to the universe itself considered
as the body or abode of an active “Person”. In the same way the
Christian church, functionally adapted to the uses of liturgy, which
are themselves entirely a matter of symbolic significance, derives its
for m from an authority higher than that of the individual builder who
is its responsible architect: just as also in the case of the painted
icons. “That are alone belongs to the painter; the otdering and the
composition belong tp the Fathers” (Second Council of Nicea). Ift
Symbolism of the Dome 17
the same way the Indian architect should reject what has not been
prescribed ( anuktam ), and in every respect perform what has been
prescribed” ( Manasara ); just as it is stated in connection with
images that the beautiful is not what pleases the fancy, but what
is in agreement with the canon” ( Sukranitisara , IV. 4. 75 and 106)
the function of which canon is to provide the support for the con-
templative act in which an imitable form is visualised (ib. 70. 71). 21
Before proceeding to a more detailed consideration of the ideo-
logy expressed in Indian domed constructions, and in what may be
termed the archetypal form of any edifice, we must point out that
what has been said by M. Mus for the stupa and for the palace,
this Buddhist monument is comprehensible primarily with res-
pect to its axis” and “we say of the prasada, as of the stupa, that
it is to be understood with respect to its axs, and that all the rest
is only accessory decoration”, 22 is of universal application. 2 ' 1 This
21 Needless to say that the doctrines of the “freedom of the artist” and of
artistic “self-expression” could only have arisen, in logical apposition to that of the
“free examination” of the Scriptures, in such an anti traditional environment as that
which had been provided by the Protestant Reformation {sic), with its altogether
unchristian evaluation of “personality”.
22 Mus, loc. cit. pp. 1 21, 360.
23 We say “universal” advisedly, and not merely with reference to each and
every human construction. The universe itself can be understood only with re-
ference to its axis. The creation is continually described as a “pillaring-apart ( vi -
skambbana) of Heaven and Earth; and that “Pillar” ( skambha—stanros ) by which
this is done is itself the exemplar of the universe. “It is pillared-apart by this Pillar
that Heaven and Earth stand fast; the Pillar is all this enspirited {atmanvat) world,
whatever breathes or winks” (Av. X. 8. 2); “Therein die future and the past and
all the worlds arc stayed” (Av. X. 7. 22); “Therein inheres all this” (Av. X. 8. 6);
“Trunk of the Tree wherein abide whatever Gods there be” (Av. X. 7. 38).
Two illustrations may be cited. The Deopara inscription of Vijayasena says
that this king erected (1 vyadhita , lit. “struck”, in the sense in which one “sticks up”
a post) a temple of Pradyumna, which was the “Mount (Mcru) whereupon the Sun
at midday rests the Tree whose branches arc the quarters of space, ( dik-sakha-miila
kandam ), and only sustaining pillar of the house of the Three Worlds” ( alamba -
stambham ekam tribhuvana-bhavanasya) (Ef. Ind. , I. 310, 314, cited by Mus, loc .
cit . pt. IV. p. 144 ==££££ 0 ., 1932, p. 412)
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938
3
1 8 Symbolism of the Dome
is sufficiently evident in the case of a domed hut of which the roof
is actually supported by a king-post, thought of not merely as con-
necting the apex of the roof with a tie-beam, but as extending from
the apex to the ground. We wish to point out, however, that while
huts of this type have certainly existed, and that similarly at least
in some cases (e.g. at Ghantasala) the axis of the stupa was actually
and structurally represented within it, the importance of the axis
in principle is no more necessarily represented by an actual pillar
within the building than it would be possible to demonstrate the
empirical existence of an Axis of the Universe, which axis is indeed
always spoken of as a purely spiritual or pneumatic essence. On
the other hand, we do find that the prolongations of the axis above
the roof and below the ground are materially represented in actual
construction; above, that is, by a finial, which may be relatively in-
conspicuous, but in many stupas extends upwards in the form of a
veritably “sky-scraping” mast (yasti ) or “sacrificial-post” (ytlpa) far
beyond the dome; and below the floor of the contained space by the
peg of khadira wood driven into the ground and by which the head
of the all-supporting Serpent is fixed. 21 In any traditional society,
In the Volsunga Saga, “King Volsung let build a noble hall in such a wise
that a big oak-tree stood therein, and that the limbs of the tree blossomed
fair out over the roof of the hall, while below stood the trunk within
it, and the said trunk did men call Branstock” (i.e. Burning Bush); it
is moreover from this trunk that Sigmund draws the sword Gram, with which Sigurd
subsequently slays Fafnir, cf. the Indian myth of the Origin of the sacrificial sword,
quoted in another note.
It will be observed that in Volsung’s hall the roof is penetrated by the stem
of the World-Tree, the hall is virtually a hyparthral temple, like the Indian bodhi-
ghara , fully described in Eastern Art, II, 1930, pp. 225-235.
24 These penetrations of the roof and floor correspond to what in the case of
the cosmic chariot are the insertions of the axle-tree in the hubs of the wheels. The
Serpent underground, an Endless Resinum (1 manta , sesa) y is the non-proceeding God-
head, Death, overcome by the proceeding Energy with whom the Axis of the
Universe, its exemplary support, is identified, and Who “occupies” the whole uni-
verse in the same way that the stauros, as the first principle of space, is said to
l 9
Symbolism of the Dome
every operation is in the strictest sense of the word a rite, and typi-
cally a metaphysical rather than a religious (devotional) rite; and it
is of the very nature of the rite that it is a mimesis of what was
done in the beginning . The erection of a house is in just this
sense an imitation of the creation of the world; and it is in this con-
nection that the transfixation of the head of the Serpent, alluded to
above, and regarded as an indispensable operation, acquires an intelli-
gible meaning. In modern practice “the astrologer shows what
spot in the foundation is exactly above the head of the snake that
supports the world. The mason fashions a little wooden peg from
the wood of the Khadira tree, and with a cocoanut drives the peg
into the ground at this particular spot, in such a way as to peg 'the
head of the snake securely down... if this snake should ever shake
the world to pieces”. A foundation stone ( -padma-sila ), with a eight-
petalled lotus carved upon it, is set in mortar above the peg. A
Brahman priest assists at all these rites, reciting appropriate incan-
tations (mantras). 2j As M. Mus very justly adds to this citation,
“occupy” the six extents, for example in Av. X. 7. 35, “The Pillar (. skambha ) hath
given their place to both Heaven and Earth and to the Space- between them, hath
given a place to the six extents (i.e. the three dimensions of space considered as
proceeding from a common centre in opposite directions), and taken up its residence
(/ vivesa) in this whole universe”, for all of which we have in practice the direct
analogy of the builder’s gnomon, set up in the beginning, and employed as the
first principle of the whole lay-out ( [Manasara , ch: VI).
25 Mrs. Sinclair Stevenson, The rites of the twice-born , 1920, p. 334. Cf.
extracts from the Mayamataya , verses 36-60, in iny Mediaeval Sinhalese Art , 1908,
p. 207. Mrs. Stevenson remarks that a fire altar is subsequently made “in the very
centre of the principal room of the house” ( ib . p. 358). Such a “principal room”
may be said to represent what was once the whole house, in »ts prototypal form of
a circular hut, ivith its central hearth. At least in the case of this prototype, it will
be safe to assume that this central hearth has been constructed immediately above
die transfixed head of the chthonic Serpent; and it will be remarked that the smoke
of die fire will rise vertically upwards to the eye or luffer in the roof, from which
it escapes. These relations correspond exactly with the doctrine that the household
fire is ab extra and manifesdy what the chdionic Serpent is ab intra and invisibly
(Aitareya Br. III. 36) and with such texts as Rv. III. 55. 7 where Agni is said to
20
Symbolism of the Dome
“If one performs in this way what is apparently a sacrilege, it is
with a view to avoiding such quakings of the earth as might be
caused if the Serpent should move its head”.* 1 ’ A very striking
example of the rite is to be found in the “Ballad of the Iron Pillar”
at Delhi: “All above a polished shaft, all a piercing spike
below. Where they marked the Naga’s head (Sesa’s in a subse-
quent verse), deep the point was driven down... Soon a castle clothed
with might round the iron pillar clomb; soon a city...”; but when
at the instigation of an enemy of the royal “house”, the bloody
point is afterwards withdrawn, 2 ' “Sudden earthquakes shook the
1 ' >> 28
plain .
remain within his ground, even while he goes forth ( anv a gram carati kseti
badhnah ), — proceeds, that is, when he has been “awakened” by Indra’s lance
( sasantam vajrena abodhyo’him, Rv. i. 103. 7, which “awakening” is a “kindling”,
as in Rv. V. 14. 1 “Awaken Agni, ye that kindle him”, agnim abodhya sami -
dhanah ), — and with the identification of Agni with the “Head of Being” Rv. X.
88. 6 and Aitareya Br . III. 43, sec my “Angel and Titan.”, JAOS. 53, p. 413). Further-
more, were it not that the smoke passes through the roof and into the beyond, the
analogy would be defective, since in this case (i.e. if the smoke of the burnt offering
were confined) Agni could not be thought of as the missal priest by whom the
oblation is conveyed to the immortal deities whose abiding place is beyond the solar
portal.
26 Mus, loc. tit. p. 207.
It will not be overlooked that even in modern Western practice there still sur-
vives the laying of a foundation stone, accompanied by what are strictly speaking
metaphysical rites; nor that such survivals are strictly speaking superstitions, or
“stand-overs” of observances of which the meaning is no longer understood.
27 In connection with this “bloody point” and the cosmic instability that follows
upon its withdrawal there could be developed an exposition of the phallic and fertilis-
ing properties of the Axis of the Universe, of which the Bleeding Lance of the Grail
tradition, the Indian Siva-lingam, and the planting-stick or ploughshare are other
aspects. But this would be to wander too far away from the present architectural
theme.
28 Waterfield and Grierson, The Lay of Alba, Oxford, 1923, pp. 276 f. The
Brahman’s question in the ballad, “How should mortal dare deal the Naga king a
mortal blow?” exactly corresponds to that of M. Mus, loc. tit “How is that each
house could be made out to stand just above the head of the mythical Serpent, the
supporter of the wbrld?”. The answer is, of course, that the very centre of the
world, the “navel of the earth” ( nabhih frthivyah ), beneath which lies the all sup-
21
Symbolism of the Dome
The earth was originally insecure, “quaking like a lotus leaf;
for the gale was tossing it hither and thither... The Gods said,
‘Come, let us make steady this support” ( Satapatba Br. II. i. i.
8-9). 29 The architect who drives down his peg into the head of the
Serpent is doing what was done by the Gods in the beginning, what
was done for example by Soma when he “fixed the miser” {vanim
astabhdyat , Rv. VI. 44. 22), and “made fast the quaking Earth”
( prthivim vyathamanam adrmhat, Rv. II. 12. 2), and by Indra when
he “smote the Serpent in his lair” (ahim...sayathe jaghana,
Rv. VI. 17.9); and what has been done, and is done, by every
porting serpent Sesa, Ananta (Ahir Budhnya, Ahi-Vrtra) is not a topographically
situated place, but a place in principle, of which every established and duly conse-
crated “centre” can be regarded as an hypostasis. In this sense, and just as the
forma htimamtatis is present in every man, the form of the unique Serpent is an
actual presence wherever a “centre” has been ritually determined. In the same way
the transfixing peg is the nether point of Indra’s vajra, wherewith the Serpent was
ttansfixed in the beginning. It is an illustration of the customary precision of
Blake’s iconography that in his Prophecy of the Crucifixion, the nail that pierces
the Saviour’s feet pierces also the head of the Serpent.
For the general principle involved in the consecration of a holystead see
Satapatha Br., III. i. i. q “Verily this whole earth is the goddess (Earth); on what-
soever part thereof one may propose to offer sacrifice, when that part has been taken
hold of by means of a sacred for mid a ( yajusa parigrhya ), there let him perform the
sacrificial rite” the rite, of course, involving the erection of an altar “at the centre
of the earth”. For the establishment of fires as a legal taking possession of a tract
of land see Pancavimsa Br., XXV. io. ^ and 13. 2; hcic the site of the new altar is
determined by casting a yoke-pin ( samya ) eastward and forward; where this peg
falls, and as is evidently to be understood sticks into the ground so as to stand
upright, marks the position of the new centre. There is reference, * apparently , to
how this was in the beginning, in Rv. X. 31. 10b, where “When the First Son (Agni)
was born of Sire-and-Mothcr (Heaven and Earth, and/or two firc-sticks, of which
the upper is like the yoke-pin made of. sami wood), the Cow (Earth) engulfed
(jagara) the yoke-pin ( samyam ) for which they had been seeking”, “seeking”, pro-
probably, because it had been “flung”. The expression samapasam, “peg-thrown
site”, survives in Samyntta Nikaya, I. 76.
29 “He spread her out (cf. Skr. prthivt ), and when He saw that she had come
to rest on the waters, He fastened upon her the mountain” (ibn Hisham, quoted
by Lyall, JRAS 1930 p. 783).
22 Symbolism of the Dome
solar hero and Messiah when he transfixes the Dragon and treads
him underfoot.
In conclusion of the present introduction a word may be said
on the principle involved in the symbolic interpretation of artefacts.
The modern critic is apt to maintain that symbolic meanings are
“read into” the “facts” which “must” originally have had no
meaning, but only a physical efficiency. Nor could any objection
be made to this if it were a matter of such absurdities of “interpreta-
tion” as are involved in an explanation of Gothic arches as imitated
from the interlacing branches of forest trees, or implied in the desig-
nation of certain well known classical ornaments as “acanthus” and
“egg and dart” motifs. Far from such sentimental fancies, a cor-
rect symbolic exegesis must be founded on a real knowledge of the
principles involved, and supported by cited texts, which arc just
as much facts as the monuments themselves. The modern critic
is apt, however, to go further, and to argue that even the oldest
citable texts are already “meanings read into” still older forms,
which perhaps had originally no intellectual significance whatever,
but only a physical function.
The truth is, however, that it is precisely in adopting this
point of view that we are reading our own mentality into that of
the primitive artificer. Our division of artefacts into “industrial”
and “decorative”, “applied” and “fine” art, would have been un-
intelligible to the primitive and normal man, who could no more
have separated use from meaning than meaning from use; as M.
Mus remarks, “The true fact, the only fact of which the builders
were aware, was a combination of both ”; 30 in primitive and tradi-
tional art the whole man finds expression, and therefore there is
always in the artefact “a polar balance of physical and metaphysi-
cal”, and it is only on their way down to us that the traditional
30 Mus, loc, at ,, p. 361.
Symbolism of the Dome 23
forms “have been more and more emptied of content’’.'” The pri-
mitive artefact can no more be fully explained by our economic
determinism than it can be by our aestheticism; the man who did by
thinking, and thought by doing, was not as we are solely concerned
about physical safety and comfort, but far more self-sufficient; he
was as profoundly interested in himself as we are now-a-days in our
bodies.
PART II
Let US for a moment abandon the consideration of architecture
for that of another craft, the smith’s, and that of his ancestor, the
maker of stone weapons.
Tangible symbols, no less than words, have their etymons: in
this sense, a “derivation” of the sword, and similarly of the celt,
from a “root” or archetype in lightning is universal and world-wide.
In Satapatba Br. I. 2. 4 there is described the origin of the sacri-
ficial sword, sacrificial post, chariot (of which the axle-tree is evi-
31 Andrac, W., Dte lontsche Saule, 1933, Schliisswort. “He for whom this
concept of the origin or ornament seems strange, should study for once the re-
presentations of the whole third and fourth millennia B.C. in Egypt and Meso-
potamia, contrasting them such ‘ornaments’ as arc properly so called in our modern
sense. It will be found that scarcely even a single example can be found there.
Whatever may seem to be such, is a drastically indispensable technical form, or it
is an expressive form, the picture of a spiritual truth”: for “or” in the last sentence
we could wish to substitute “and at the same time”.
Similarly Herbert Spinden, in the Brooklyn Museum Quarterly , 1935, pp. 168
and 171 : “Then came the Renaissance Man ceased to be a part of the universe,
and came down to earth. So it would seem that there are only two categories of
art, one a primitive or spiritual category, one a category of disillusioned
realism based on material experiments (The primitive artist)
wrought and fought for ideals which hardly come within the scope of immediate
comprehension. Our first reaction is one of wonder, but our second should be an
effort to understand. Nor should we accept a pleasurable effect upon our unintelli-
gent nerve ends as an- index of understanding”.
24
Symbolism of the Dome
dently the principle), and arrow from Indra’s vajra (thunderbolt,
lightning, adamantine lance, and stauros). “When Indra hurled the
thunderbolt at Vrtra, that one thus hurled became fourfold.
Thereof the wooden sword (s-phya) represents a third or thereabouts,
the sacrificial post about a third or thereabouts, and the chariot (sc.
axle-tree) one third or thereabouts. That (fourth and shortest) piece
moreover, with which he struck him was broken away, and flying
off ( patitvaf 2 became an arrow; whence the designation ‘arrow’
(sard) inasmuch as it was ‘broken away’ (as try at a). In this way the
thunderbolt became fourfold. Priests make use of two of these in
sacrifice, while men of royal blood make use of two in battle
Now when he (the priest) brandishes the wooden sword, it is the
thunderbolt (vajra) that he raises against the wicked, spiteful enemy,
even as Indra in that day raised the thunderbolt against the Dragon
(Vrtra) He takes it with the incantation “At the instigation
of divine Savitr (the Sun) I take thee with the arms of the Asvins,
with the hands of Pusan (the Sun) with His hands therefore
he takes it, not with his own; for it is the thunderbolt, and no man
can hold that He murmurs, and thereby makes it sharp,
“Thou art Indra’s right arm’, for Indra’s right arm is no doubt the
strongest, and therefore he says ‘Thou art Indra’s right arm’. ‘The
thousand-spiked, the hundred edged’, he adds, for a thousand spikes
and a hundred edges had that thunderbolt that Indra hurled at
Vrtra; he thereby make the wooden sword to be that thunderbolt.
32 Patitva is also “fallen”. The double entendre is, let us not say calculated,
but inevitable. Inasmuch as the arrow is winged (patatrin, patrin) it is virtually a
“bird” (. patairin ), that is to say in terms of Vcdic symbolism an intellectual substance
(cf. Rv. VI, 9, 3), and by the same token of divine origin and heavenly descent. The
embodiment of the “form” of an arrow in an actual artefact is precisely such a
“descent” ( avatarana ), and a decadence from a higher to a lower level of reference
or plane of being; conversely, the actual weapon can always be referred to its prin-
ciple, and is thus at the same time a tool and a symbol. Patitva , finally, also implies
subtraction, as of a part from a whole; and it is in this sense that our text provides
Uj with a hermeneia of the word sara 3 “arrow”.
Symbolism of the Dome 25
The keen-edged Gale (vayu) art thou’, 33 he adds; for he who blows
here is indeed the keenest edge; for he cuts across these worlds; he
thereby makes it sharp. When he further says : The killer of the
foe’, let him, whether he wishes to exercise or not, say: The killer
of so and so When it has been sharpened, he must not touch
either himself or the earth with it : ‘Lest I should hurt, etc.” Later,
he brandishes the sword thrice, driving away the Asuras from the
Three Worlds, and a fourth to repel the Asuras from “what fourth
world there may or may not be beyond these Three”; the first three
strokes being made with chanted formula:, the fourth stroke silently.
The third verse of the Satapatha Br. text, cited above, affirms in
effect in hoc signo vinces. The wooden sword is described as
straight ( Katy...Sr . I. 3. 33, 39), and the usual word for sword,
khadga is used in connection with it, and as it must accordingly
have had a guard, it is clear that must have been cruciform. The
European parallel is sufficiently obvious; sword and cross are vir-
tually identified in Christian knightly usage; the sword, at least,
can be used as a substitute for a wooden cross, and in the same way
as a hallow or opotropaic weapon, in the banning of evil spirits.
33 That is, of course, and also in Christian phraseology, the “Gale bf the
Spirit” : “The Gale that is thy-Self thunders through the firmament as it were
an untamed beast taking its pleasure in the cultivated- fields”, Rv. VII, 87, 2.
34 Rv. VI. 73. 13-16, “Be such great honour paid unto the arrow, celestial,
of Parjanya’s seed; fly forth, thou arrow, sharpened by incantation, from the bow-
string, go reach our enemies, let there not any one of them be left”. Similarly for
the chariot, compared to and addressed directly as “Indra’s thunderbolt, edged of
the Gales, germ of Mitra and navel of Varuna” ( 1 indrasya vajro marutam anikam
mitrasya garbko varunasya nabhih, Rv. VI. 47. 28). The whole complex of
ideas expressed in our Brahmana text is thus already present in Rv., where the
warrior very clearly sees himself in the likeness of Indra at war with the powers of
darkness, and his weapons in the likeness of Indra’s. The warrior is virtually Indra,
his weapons virtually Indra’s.
For the similar “deification”, or as we should express it, “transubstantiation” of
other implements see also Keith, Religion and Philosophy of the Veda, p. 188. The
modern craftsman’s annual “worship” of his tools is of the same sort.
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938
4
26 Symbolism of the Dome
In Japan the sword is similarly “derived” from an archetypal
lightning. The Japanese sword, Shinto, Royal, or Samurai, is in
fact the descendant or hypostasis (tsugi, as this word occurs in the
imperial title Hitsugi, “Scion of the Sun”, Skr. aditya-bandhu) of
the sword of lightning found by Susa-no-Wo-no-Mikoto, whom we
may call the “Shinto Indra”, in the tail of the Dragon of the
Clouds, whom he slays and dissevers, receiving in return the last of
the daughter of the Earth, whose seven predecessors have been con-
sumed by the Dragon. 35 The solar hero, in other words, possesses
himself of the Dragon (Father’s) sting, which “sword” he indeed
returns to the Gods, but which in a likeness made by hands and
empowered by appropriate rites becomes a veritable palladium, a
talisman “fallen from the sky” ( diomds .= divo-patita), whether
as a cult-object in a Shinto shrine or “symbolising the soul of the
Samurai, and as such the object of his worship”. Dr. Holtom’s
“worship” is, however, scarcely the right word here. The sword of
a Samurai is thought of both as himself or own soul ( tamashii ) or
alter ego, and also as the embodiment of a guardian principle
(mamori), and thus as a protector, spiritually as well as physically.
The first conception, that of the sword as an extension of one’s own
essence bears a close likeness to the doctrine of the Brbad Devata
!• 74> w here the weapon of a Deva “is precisely his fiery-energy”
35 Holtom, D. C., Japanese Enthronement Ceremonies, Tokyo, 1928 (Ch. Ill,
The Sword). It may be remarked that these ceremonies are essentially rites, and
only accidentally, however appropriately, attended with an imposing pomp. The
most solemn of all these “ceremonies” is that of the Great New Food Festival, of
which Dr. Holtom says that “Herein arc carried out the most extraordinary pro-
cedures to be found anywhere on earth today in connection with the enthrone-
ment of any monarch. In the dead of n'ght, alone, except for the service of two
female attendants, the Emperor, as the High Priest of the nation, performs solemn
rites that carry us back to the very beginnings of Japanese history, rites which are
so old that the very reasons for their performance have been forgotten. Concealed
in this remarkable midnight service we can find the original Japanese enthronement
ceremony” (ih. p. 59).
27
Symbolism of the Dome
(tejas tv evayudham yasya yat ), and IV. 143, where conversely
the Deva “is its inspiration” (tasyatma bahudha sah, better perhaps
“is hypostasised in it”). The Templar’s sword is in the same way
a “power” and extension of his own being, and not a “mere tool”;
but only an outsider (pro-fanus ) would speak of the Crusader as
“worshipping” his sword. Dr. Holtom is, of course, a “good”
anthropologist, and satisfied with naturalistic and sociological ex-
planations of the weapon as a ■palladium , of celestial derivation; we,
who see in traditional art an incarnation of ideas rather than the
idealisation of facts, should prefer to speak of an adequate symbolism
and an adaptation of superior principles to human necessities.
The same idea can be recognized in the fact that in the mys-
teries of the Idaean Daktyls, Pythagoras was purified by a “thunder-
stone”, which as Miss Harrison says was “in all probability nothing
but a black stone celt, the simplest form of stone-age axe”; and in
the fact that the designation of stone axes and arrowheads as
“thunderbolts” and the attribution to them of a magical efficacy has
been “almost world-wide”. We agree with Miss Harrison that this
idea was not of popular origin; but not therefore that it must have
been of late origin, for we see no force or sense in her view that
“the wide-spread delusion that these celts were thunderbolts cannot
have taken hold of men’s minds till a time when their real use as
ordinary axes was forgotten cannot therefore have been very
primitive” (Themis, pp. 89, 90). Delusion cannot , — a
non sequitur from any point of view, for if the Hindu and the
Japanese can call a wooden or a metal sword a thunderbolt at a time
when these weapons were in “real use , it is hard to see why primi-
tive man, who was also in some sense a shamanist, should not have
done the same. In the first place there can be little doubt that
primitive man enspirited his weapons by appropriate incantations (as
did the Hindu and the Japanese, and as the Christian Church even
to this day consecrates a variety of objects made by hands, notably
28
Symbolism of the Dome
in the case o£ “transubstantiation”), and thereby endowed them
with a more than human efficiency; and in the second place, if we
assume from the world-wide and “superstitious” (“stand-overish”)
prevalence of the notion, and also on more general grounds, that he
already called his weapons thunderbolts, though perfectly aware of
their actual artificiality, can we possibly suppose that he meant this
to be taken in any more literal (or any less real) sense that the
Brahman who likewise calls his sword a vajra, — thunderbolt, light-
ning, or adamant ? 36 Primitive man, as every schoolboy knows, re-
cognized a will in all things, — “Iron of itself draws a man on” — ,
and has therefore been called an “animist”. The term is only in-
appropriate because it was not an independent anima (“soul”) that
he saw in everything, but mana, a spiritual rather than a psychic
power, undifferentiated in itself, but in which all things participated
according to their own nature. In other words, he explained the
being-in-act or efficacy of any contingent thing by thinking of it as
informed by an omnipresent, inexhaustible, informal and unparti-
cularised Being and source of all power: which is precisely the
Christian and Hindu doctrine . 37 We say, then, that primitive man
3 6 A mass of data on “thunder stones” has been brought together by P.
Saintyves ( Pierres magicues: betyles, haches-amulettes et pierres de foudre; tra-
ditions savant es et traditions populates, Paris), who however has not really
understood his material; for as Rene Guenon remarks (in a review in Etudes
Traditionelles 42. p. 81) “In the matter of prehistoric weapons, it is not enough to
say with die author that they have been called “thunder-bolts” only because their
real origin and use has been forgotten, for if that were all we should expect to find
as well all sorts of other explanations whereas in fact, in every country without
exception they are always “thunder-bolts” and never anything else; the sym-
bolic reason is obvious, while the “rational explanation” is disturbingly puerile”!
37 It is not at all without ground that Strzygowski remarks that the Eskimos
“have a much more abstract conception of the human soul than the Christians
the thought of many so-called primitive peoples is far more spiritualised than that
of many so-called civilised peoples”, adding that “in any case it is clear that in
matters of religion we shall have to drop the distinction between primitive and
civilised peoples” ( Spuren indogermanischen Glaubens in der bildenden Kunst,
m 6 ’ P- 344 )-
Symbolism of the Dome 29
already spoke of his weapons as “thunderbolts”, and more, that he
knew what he meant when he called them such; that the same is
true of the more sophisticated Hindu and Japanese, with only this
difference, that he can prove by chapter and verse that he calls his
weapons thunderborn without being unaware of their artifactuality
and practical use; that the Christian in the same way “worships
idols made by hands” (as the iconoclast or anthropologist might say),
while able to show that it is not as a fetish that he “worships” the
icon; and finally that if there are to be found ignorant peasants who
speak of celts as thunderbolts without knowing them for weapons,
in this case only we have to do with a veritable superstition or
“stand-over”, — a superstition which it should have been the business
of the anthropologist rather to elucidate than merely to record. All
of these considerations apply, mutatis mutandis , to the problem of
architectural symbolism. How then can we propose to explain the
genesis of the forms embodied in works of art only by an enumera-
tion of the material facts and functions of the artefact? To take a
case in point, it is certainly not by purely “practical” considerations
that one can explain the position of the harmikd or “little dwelling”,
or deva kotuwa or “citadel of the Gods” immediately above and out-
side the apex of the stupa; whereas the raison d’etre of this emplace-
ment becomes immediately evident if we understand that “imme-
diate above the apex of the dome” is as much as to say “beyond the
Sun”; all that is mortal being contained within, and all that is
immortal exceeding the structure.
But let us also consider the matter from a physically practical
point of view. We have agreed that the symbols, on their way
down to us, tend more and more to become merely decorative “art
forms”, a sort of upholstery, to which we cling either from habit
or for “aesthetic” reasons; and that the corresponding rites, with
which for example the work of construction is “blessed” at various
stages, become mere superstitious. In this case we ask, what prac-
3 °
Symbolism of the Dome
tical value was originally served by these now apparently useless ins-
titutions and survivals? In a purely material sense, what have we
gained or lost by an implicit decision to “live by bread alone?”
Was the actual stability of buildings in any way secured by the
recognition of such meanings and the performance of such rites as
we have described above? We mention bread, because all that we
have to say will apply as much to agricultural as to architectural rites.
Not to take up too much space, we shall only ask whether or
not it is by chance that the neglect of agriculture as a sacred art, and
denial of a spiritual significance to bread, have coincided with a
decline in the quality of the product, so conspicuous that only a
people altogether forgetful of the realities of life, and drugged by the
phraseology of advertisers, could have failed to remark it.
For the answer to this question we refer the reader to M.
Glezes, Vie et Abort de I’Occident Chretien, Sablons, 1930, of which
the latter part is devoted to “Le Mystere du Pain et du Vin”. Here
we shall only attempt to show that in spite of all our scientific know-
ledge (which is in reality not so much at the consumer s disposal
as it is at the disposal of the consumer’s exploiter, the commercial
builder and real estate agent), there can be traced a significant paral-
lel between the neglect of architecture as a sacred and symbolic art
and an actual instability of buildings; that it is not without its
consequences for the householder that the builder and mason can no
longer conceive what it may have meant to be “initiated into the
mystery of their craft”, nor in what sense an architect could ever
have played the part of priest and king. Let us grant that rites as
such, envisaged that is simply as a mechanical going through with
habitual and required motions, cannot be supposed to affect in any
way the stability of a structure, and that the stability of an actual
building depends essentially on the proper adjustment of materials
and stresses, and not on what has been said or done in connection
with the building It remains that in considering only materials and
3 1
Symbolism of the Dome
stresses, of which an admirable knowledge may exist in theory, we
are leaving out the builder. Does nothing depend upon him, upon
his honesty, for example? Is it of no consequence whatever if he
mixes too much sand with his mortar? as he will surely do, what-
ever the text-book says, if he is building only for profit, and not for
use? Arguing not merely on principle, but also from personal con-
tact with hereditary craftsmen in whom a tradition of workmanship
has been transmitted through countless generations, we affirm that
so long as faith remains, that the attribution of superhuman origins
and symbolic significance to architecture, and the participation of
the architect in metaphysical rites in which a direct connection is
made of macrocosmic with microcosmic proportions, confer upon the
architect a human dignity and a responsibility far other than that of
the “contractor”, who at the best may calculate that “honesty is the
best policy. 3 ** We say that further that it is not merely a question
of ethics; but that the recognition of the possibility of an “artistic
sin”, as a thing distinct in kind from “moral sin’ 39 even in Europe
38 “The cost approach is the primary trouble with all housing in this country,
private as well as public This has resulted not only in the tenements of the
slums but also in the fantastic apartments of the well-to-do, sixteen stories or more
in height, with a density per acre and a lack of natural light and ventilation which
are shocking. It is literally true that the most important part of an arch tect s
work in our cities has been to produce maximum floor space with minimum ex-
pense Design for comfort, health, and safety is always secondary” (L. W.
Post, in the Nation, March 27, 1937). No “metaphysical” architecture has ever
been as inefficient as this; we may say that a neglect of first principles inevitably
leads to discomfort, and point out that the secularisation of the arts has resulted
in the sort of art we have, — a sort of art that is either the plaything of an idle
class or if not that, then a means of making money at die cost of human well-
being, and for which in e : thcr case we have only to thank our own anti-traditional
individualism.
39 Sin, defined as “a departure from the order to the end may be eidier
artistic or moral: “Firstly, by a departure from the particular end intended by
the artist: and this sin will be proper to the art; for instance, if an artist produce
a bad thing, while intending to produce something good; or produce something
good, while intending to produce something bad. Secondly, by a departure from
the general end of human life : and then he will be said to sin, if he intend to
3 2
Symbolism of the Dome
(where occasional workmen are still to be found whose first concern
is with the good of the work to be done) long delayed the appearance
of what is now called “jerry-building”. We are not here, however,
primarily concerned with these practical and technical considera-
tions, but more with meanings, and with the artefact considered as
a symbol and as a possible support of a contemplation dispositive to
gnosis. We say that just as it is beyond the capacity of man to
make anything whatever so purely spiritual and intellectual as to
afford no sensuous satisfaction so it is beneath the dignity of man to
make anything whatever with a view to an exclusively material
good, and devoid of any higher reference. We who have consented
to this subhuman standard of living, cannot postulate in primitive
man such limitations as our own. Even at the present day peoples
survive, uncontaminated by civilisation, to whom it has never
occurred that it might be either possible or desirable to live by bread
alone, or in any manufacture to separate function from significance.
It is not by any means only for political reasons that Western civi-
lisation is feared and hated by the Orient, but also because “it is
impossible for one to obtain liberation who lives in a town covered
with dust” (Baudhayana Dh. Sii., II. 3. 6. 33). We are not, then,
“reading meanings into” primitive works of art when we discuss
their formal principles and final causes, treating them as symbols
and supports of contemplation rather than as objects of a purely
material utility, but simply reading their meaning.™ For to say
produce a bad work, and does so actually in order that another may be taken in
thereby. But this sin is not proper to the artist as such, but as a man. Conse-
quendy, for the former sin the artist is blamed as an artist; while for the latter
he is blamed as a man” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theological, I-II, 21, 2 ad 2).
Indian text books, at least, require of the hereditary artist to be both a good artist
and a good man.
40 That is, sees things, whether natural t>r artificial, not merely as individual
and in this sense unintelligible essence but also as symbolic referents, that which
is symbolised being the archetype and raison d’etre of the thing itself, and in this
sense its only final explanation.
33
Symbolism of the Dome
“traditional art” is to say “the art of peoples who took for granted
the superiority of the contemplative to the active life, and regarded
the life of pleasure as we regard the life of animals, determined only
by affective reactions”. “A person knows what is and is not
mundane, and is so endowed that by the mortal he pursues the
immortal. But as for the herd, theirs is an acute discrimination
merely according to hunger and thirst” (Aitareya Br. II. 3. 2), cf.
Boethius, Contra Evtychen II, “There is no person of a horse or ox
or any other of the animals which, dumb and unreasoning, live a
life of sense alone, but we say there is a person of a man, or God”.
PART III
We shall take it for granted that the reader is familiar with our
“Pali kannika — circular Roof-Plate”, JAOS. 30, 1930, pp. 238-243.
To what has been said there we wish to add in the first place that it
can hardly be doubted that the kannika or roof-plate of a domed
structure, the meeting-place of its converging rafters, had almost
certainly, as the term itself suggests, the form of a lotus, and that
this lotus was in effect the Sun, “the one lotus of the zenith”
(Brhaddranyaka Up. VI. 3. 6), to be correlated with the “lotus of
the earth” and womb of Agni below: and secondly that the expres-
sion vijjhitva (Skr. root vyadh ), Jataka I. 201, implies a central per-
foration of the kannika-mandalam which was itself an image of the
disc of the Sun ( sHrya-mandalam ), and at the same time constituted
what may have been called the “eye” of the dome, although for this
we have no Indian literary evidence beyond the use of “eye” for
“window” in the word gavdksa (literally “bull’s eye”), and the
expression “eye of a lotus” (puskardksa ) occurring in Panini V.
4. 76. We need hardly say that “Sun” and “Eye” are constantly
assimilated notions in Vedic mythology, and that it is from the
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938 5
34
Symbolism of the Dome
same point of view that the Buddha is frequently called the “Eye in
the World” {cakkhumalokef x
A majority of existing domes are in fact provided with an apical
aperture, called the “eye of the dome” : Gwilt, Arch. Gloss.,
“eye” as “a general term signifying the centre of any part. The
eye of a dome is the horizontal aperture in its summit. The eye of
a volute 42 is the circle in its centre”.
“On the Acropolis of Athens In the north porch of the
Erectheion are the marks of a trident. In examining the roof of
this north porch it has been found that immediately above the
trident-mark an opening in the roof had been purposely left: the
architectural traces are clear ”. 43 The Roman Pantheon was lighted
41 Rv. passim; Av. III. 22. 5; Brhadaran. Up. I. 3. 8. 14; III. 1. 4; Katha Up.
V. 1 x ; Sam. Nikaya I. 138; Atthasalirii, 38; S. Nipata I. 399; etc. Oculus mmidt
is the sun in Ovid, Met. 4. 228, whence “eye of the world 1 ’ = “sun” in English.
Other meanings of English “eye” include “centre of revolution”, “socket” (for in-
sertion of another object), “place of exit or ingress”, “fountain” (well-eye), brightest
spot or centre”. Arabic ‘ain and Persian chashm, chashma are “eye”, ‘sun’, and
“well-spring”, 'ain also ‘exemplar’. None of these meanings is without signi-
ficance in the present connection
42 The two eyes of the double volute correspond in fact to the Sun and Moon,
which are the eyes of the sky, Rv. I. 70. 10. It is not inconceivable that in apsidal
buildings having an apse and therefore also a roof-plate at each end, the two
kannikas were thought of as respectively the Sun and Moon of the house.
43 Harrison, }., Themis, pp. 91-92. Miss Harrison adds “But what does,
Poseidon want with a hole in the roof?” and answers correctly enough that “before
Poseidon took to the sea he was Erectheus the Smiter, the Earth-shaker”. Poseidon
is no more than Ouranos or Varuna in an essentially limited sense a sea-god.
These are, like the God of Genesis, the God of the primordial Waters (both the
upper and the nether) representative of “all possibility”; if he bears a trident, icono-
graphically indistinguishable from Siva’s trisula and Indra’s vajra, and which is in
fact a solar shaft, it is because he is not merely a “seagod” in the later and
literary sense, but the protean deity of all that is, whether above or below.
Vitruvius (1. 2. 5) says that Fulgur, Coelum, Sol and Luna were worshipped in
hypaethral temples. Even the domes of such modern structures as St. Paul’s
may be called, with respect to their “eyes”, vestigially hypaethral shrines of the
Sky-god. In cathedrals, of which the vault is generally closed, the opening is re-
placed by a representation of an evidently solar type; as Byron and Rice express it,
35
Symbolism of the Dome
by an enormous eye, open to the sky, making the structure in fact
hypaethral. More often the eye of a dome is comparatively small,
and opens into a “lantern” above the dome, which lantern admits
light but excludes rain. In the case of the stupa there is likewise
an opening at the summit of the dome, the purpose of which is to
serve as a place of insertion or socket for the mast that overstands
the dome, and which is therefore also an “eye”.
In any case, and whether an opening or a socket, the aperture
can be regarded as at the same time functional (source of illumina-
tion, mortice, etc.) and as symbolic (means of passage from the in-
terior to the exterior of the dome). It may be further observed that
the eye in a roof is also a louvre or luffer permitting the escape of
smoke from the central fire beneath it. 11 That the eye or luffer
thus functions as a chimney (as well as a source of light) by no
means reduces, but rather reinforces the macrocosmic symbolism,
for it is both as an ascending flame and as a pillar of smoke by which
Agni props up the sky, as in Rv. IV. 6. 2-3 where “Agni, even as
if. were a builder, hath lifted up on high his splendour, even as it
were a builder his smoke, yea, holdeth up the sky ( stabbayat upa
clyam) a standard, as it were the pillar of sacrifice (svam =
yiipa ), firmly planted and duly chnsmed , cf. Rv. III. 5. 10, IV.
5.1, VI, 17.7.
“The central dome was reft by the stupendous frown of Christ pantocrator, the
sovereign judge” ( Birth of Western Painting, p. 81, italics mine).
44 “I t W as the abode of a blacksmith “c were ushered into the hall of
dais, into the sanctum of the edific. The “riggin” was above our heads... Chimney,
of course, there was none, an opening in the centre of the roof immediately above
the fire, allowed of the egress of the smoke and admitted light enough to see one’s
way in the apartment Around the fire were arranged soft seats of turf for the
family” (Charlton, E., “Journal of an expedition to Shetland in 1834”, in Saga-
book of the Viking Society, 1936, p. 62). This description of the main room of
a house, still surviving in the nineteenth century, is applicable in every detail to
what we understand to have been the typical form of a dwelling already in the
Stone Age, and generally as the prototype of the house, itself mimetic bf a
macrocosmic archetype.
3 6
Symbolism of the Dome
It is certainly not without significance that vijjhitva, “perforat-
ing” or “penetrating”, is also employed in connection with
the piercing of a mark or bull’s eye by an arrow, e.g. in Jataka V.
129 £., where there is an Jlfbunt of the feats of archery performed
by the Bodhisattva Jotipala (“Keeper of Light”), a superlative
marksman (akkhana-vedbin ) i5 whose shaft is “tipped with
45 The etymology of the word akkhana has been disputed : as PTS. remarks
“We should expect either an etym. bearing on the meaning ‘hitting the centre
of the target’ (i.e. its ‘eye’) (cp. E. bull’s eye)... or an etym. like ‘hitting without
mishap’.” It is evident in fact that the connection of akkhana is with Skr. aks, to
“reach Or “penetrate”, the source of aksa and aksam, ‘eye’ and akhana , “butt” or
“target” and in fact “bull’s eye”. We digress to cite the latter word from Jaimi -
nly a Up. Br. I. 60. 8 “The breath of life is this stone as a target” (sa eso smakhanam
yat pranah, where it may be noted that prana and asman can both be taken as
references to the Sun, cf. Rv. VII. 104. 19 divo asmanam) which target the Asuras
cannot affect.
Aksa is also “axis” and “axle-tree” (distinguished only by accent from
aksa , “eye”), and Benfey was evidently near the mark when he suggested that
aksa as axle-tree was so-called as forming the “eye” in the hub of the wheel which
it penetrates. E. eye (G. auge) and E. axis and auger present some curious analogies
with Skr. aksa and aksi. Auger is stated to represent O. E. nafu-gar, “that which
perforates the nave of a wheel”; had it been related to G. auge; would be “that
which makes an ‘eye’ in anything”. It may be added that Skr. aksagra is the
“axle point”, and the hub its “door”, aksa-dvara.
Akkhana-vedhin is then “one who pierces the ‘eye’,” or ‘one whose arrow pene-
trates the bull’s eye” : in the present context it would scarcely be too much to say
“Pierces the centre of the disc of the Sun” or “hits the solar and macrocosmic
Bull’s eye”, cf. Mundaka Up. cited below. Probably the best short English equi-
valent for akkhana-vedhin would be “infallible marksman.”
We find the epithet again in Jataka No. 181 (Jataka II. 88 f.) where it is
applied to the Bodhisattva Asadisa (“Nonpareil”), who performs two feats. In the
first, a king under whom the Bodhisattva has taken service, is seated at
the foot of a mango-tree (ambamkkhamule) on a great couch close beside a “cere-
monial stone slab” (mangalasila-patta, probably an altar of Kamadeva, cf. Dasa-
kumaracarita , Ch. V* as cited in my Yaksas , II, p. 12); the king desires his archers
to bring down a bunch of mangos from the top of the tree (rftkkhagge —vrksagre)
Nonpareil undertakes to do so, but must first stand just where the king is sitting,
which he is allowed to do (we see here a close analogy to the Mara-dharsana scene,
and to that of the First Meditation, with the implication that the king has been
seated precisely at the navel of of the earth, or at least a “centre” analogically
identified with that centre); standing then at the. foot of the tree, he shoots an
37
Symbolism of the Dome
adamant” ( yajiraggam naracam and who is furthermore, possessed
of the power of aerial flight, to be subsequently discussed. One of
the feats of the “Keeper of Light”, whom we can only regard as a
“solar hero” and like the Buddha a ‘’kinsman of the Sun” ( ddicca -
band h «), is called “the threading of the circle” / cakka-viddham ).
In the execution of this feat, his arrow, to which a scarlet thread
( ratta-suttakam ) has been attached, penetrates in succession four
marks placed at the four corners of the arena, returning through the
first of these marks to his hand, thus describing a circle which pro-
ceeds from and ends in himself as its centre. Thus the Bodhisattva,
standing within a fourcornered field ( caturassa-paricchedabbhantare )
connects its corners (the four quarters, cf. Satapatha Br. VI, i. 2. 29)
to himself by means of a thread ( suttakam ■== siitram ): and this is
unmistakably a “folklore” version of the siitratman doctrine,
according to which the Sun connects these worlds arid all things to
himself by means of a thread of spiritual light. 47
arrow vertically upwards, which pierces the mango stalk but docs not sever it, and
following tli is a second arrow, which touches and overturns the first, and continues
into the heaven of the Thirty Three, where it is retained; finally the original arrow
in its fall severs the mango-stalk, and Non-pareil catches the bunch of mangoes in
one hand and the arrow in the other. In the second feat, the Bodhisattva’s brother
Brahmadatta (“Theodore”), king of Benares, is beleaguered by seven other kings.
Nonpareil terrifies these and raises the siege by letting fly an arrow which strikes
the “knop of the golden dish from which the seven kings are eating ( sattannam
rajunam bhuhjantanam kahcanapati-makule , where pati = patra), i.e. die centre of
this dish, which can hardly be regarded otherwise than as a likeness of the Sun
which we have identified with the “Titan’s feeding bowl”, camasan asurasya
bhaksanam patram in Rv. I. no. 3 and 5 c *^ c< ^ above.
46 Vajiraggam, applied to the weapon of a solar hero, is significant. For the
arrow, in origin, is said to have been the broken tip of the primordial vajra with
which Indra smote the Dragon; which part “having flown (patina), is called an
arrow (iara) because it was broken off” ( asiryata , Satapatha Br. I. 2. 4. 1). For
further data on vajira, vajra, see my Elements of Buddhist Iconography, pp. 43-46.
We might say that vajiraggam = vajragram implies as much which was the point
of the vajra ” as “tipped with adamant.
47 As pointed out in a subsequent note on the “turn-cap” motif, the question
of “truth” in folklore, fairy-tale, and myth, is not a simple matter of correlation
3 8
Symbolism of the Dome
We cannot, indeed, agree with M. Foucher that the well-
known bow-and-arrow symbol met with on early Indian coins
primarily represents a stupa. On the other hand, as pointed out by
M. Mus, “Does not the stupa, considered as constructed wholly
round about the axis of the universe, look strangely like a bow to
with observed fact, but one of intelligibility. The “threading of a circle” as des-
cribed above can only be called a “miracle” (and for present purposes we assume
that “miraculous” and “impossible” are much the same) : nevertheless we have seen
that the narrative has a true meaning. It is no more necessary that a truth should
be expressed in terms of fact, than that an equation should resemble its locus. The
symbolism must be consistent; it does not have to be historically factual.
Scripture is written in a hieratic language and a parabolic style, often requiring
a learned commentary. The oral literature of the folk, which may be called the
Bible of the unlearned, is by no means of popular origin, but designed to secure
the transmission of the same doctrines by and amongst an unlearned folk. For
such a purpose the ideas had necessarily to be imagined and expressed in readily
imitable forms. The same, of course, applies to the visual art of the people, often
misconceived of as an essentially “decorative” art, but which is really an essentially
metaphysical and only accidentally decorative art. The necessity and final cause of
folk art is not that it should be fully understood by every transmitter, but that it
should remain intelligible, and it is precisely for this reason that its actual forms
must have been such as would lend themselves to faithful and conservative
transmission.
“Conservative transmission” can easily be misunderstood from our modern point
of view, in which the emphasis on individuality has led to a confusion of originality
with novelty. Spinden proposes a false alternative when he asks “Does man, at
large, think or merely remember?” ( Culture , the diffusion controversy , London,
1928, p. 43) “Transmission” may be either from one generation to another, or from
one to another contemporary culture. We cannot draw a logical distinction be-
tween “transmission” and “memory” : for even if we set ourselves to copy an object
before us, it is only memory, visual or verbal, that enables us to bridge the temporal
gap that separates the model from its repetition. If there can be no property in ideas,
it is also true that nothing can be known or stated except in some way: and it is
precisely in this “way” that the liberty of the individual subsists; apart from which
there could no such thing as a sequence of styles in a given cycle, nor any
such thing as a distinction of styles in a national or geographical
sense. It is of the essence of “tradition” that something is kept alive ; and as long
as this is the case, it is as erroneous to speak of a “mechanical” transmission from
generation to generation as it is to suppose that the elements of culture can be mecha-
nically borrowed from one people by another. It is only because our academic
science acquaints us for the most part only with dead or dying traditions (often
39
Symbolism of the Dome
which an arrow has been set ?” 48 and we may add like other domed
structures, if thought of in cross-section. Remembering the actual
perforation ( vijjhitva ) of our roof plate, and what has been said above
about the “eye of a dofne”, we cannot but be struck by the fact
that in this symbol of a bow and arrow suggesting the cross-section
indeed traditions that have been deliberately killed by the representatives of a
supposedly higher culture), and because of our own individualistic insistence upon
novelty that we are so little conscious of the absolute originality of even the most
conservative peasant art. No one who has ever lived and worked with the tradi-
tional artist, whether craftsman or story-teller, has ever failed to recognize that in
repeating what has been repeated for countless generations, the man is always
completely himself, and giving out what proceeds from within, moved by its form,
which giving out from within is precisely what we mean by the word originality.
As Mr. Benson himself a “traditional artist’’ has recently admirably expressed it
“If a work of art originates in a clear mental image, we call it an original work of
art. It has a true mental origin. Original work has nothing to do with the
novelty or newness of the subject or its treatment. The subject and the technique
may be as old as the hills, but if they arc created in an original mental image,
the work will be original’ ’ (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Third Radio Series, sixth
address, February n, 1936, obtainable from the Museum).
There is something just a little too precious and condescending in the attitude
of the modern intellectual who for his part is naive enough to believe that even
the more technical language of scripture has none but literal and naturalistic
meanings and at the same time proposes to protect the child at its mother’s knee
and the peasant by the fire-side from the possibility of a like belief in the literal
significance of a transmitted legend, which indeed he may not have fully under-
stood but which at least has been handed down to him reverently and will be
handed on by him in the same spirit. We need hardly say that the amoral character
of the fairy-tale, to which exception is similarly taken, is only a further evidence of
its strictly metaphysical and purely intellectual content.
The Jatakas , of course, have been adapted to edifying uses; but it is impossible
that the original shapers of the stories should not have understood their analogic
significance, and improbable that none of those who heard or read them “had ears
to hear.”
A “Symbolische Schiessen nach den vier Himmelsrichtungen” occurs in late
Egyptian art, see H. Schafer, Aegyptische und heutige Kunst , 1928, p. 46, Abb. 54,
after Prisse d’Avennes, Mon. Eg. PI. 33. No “thread”' is represented, but it can
scarcely be doubted that the arrows are shafts of light. There occur also in late
Egyptian art admirable representations of the Sun-door both open and closed, see
Schafer, ib. p. 10 1. Abb. 22-24.
48 Mus, loc. cit. t p. 1 18.
4 °
Symbolism of the Dome
of a stupa (or any like domed structure) the arrow actually penetrates
the apex of the “dome”; in other words breaks through the summit
of contingent being ( bbavdgra ), through the station of the Sun in
the zenith into a beyond.
It is at this point that our symbolic archery becomes most signi-
ficant. For, as will now be seen, that goal which lies beyond the
Sun, and which is usually described as reached by a passing through
the midst of the Sun, is also very strikingly described in Mundaka
Up. II. 2. 2-4 (which we cite in a slightly condensed form) as to be
attained by means of a spiritual marksmanship : “Resplendent-sun
( arcinam ), imperishable Brahman, Breath of Life (prdnah), Truth
(sat yam), Immortal, — That is the mark (laksyam) to be penetrated
( veddhavyam ). 49 Taking for bow the mighty weapon of the
Upanisad, set thereunto an arrow pointed by reverent-service, and
bending it by the thought of the nature of That, penetrate ( vtddhi ) 50
49 Cf. Bhagavad Gita XI. 54 “I can verily be penetrated” ( sakyo by
aham viddhah). If That (Spirit, atman, immanent as “body-dweller” and transce-
dent in itself discamate) is also described as “ever impenetrable” ( nityam avedhyab,
ib. II. 30), this means, of course, by whatever is not of Its own nature; the Asuras
for example being themselves shattered on that Stone that is the Breath of Life,
Jaimimya Up. Br . I. 60. 8 as quoted in a previous note.
50 With the injunction tal laksyam viddhi, “Hit that mark” cf. the expressions
laksa-vedhin, laksya-vedha , laksya-bheda, and the previously cited akkhana-vedbin,
all denoting one who hits the mark, the target, the “bull’s eye.” Viddbi is the
imperative both of vyadh to “pierce” and of vid to “know” the “penetration” is
here in fact a gnosis; in Jaimimya Up. Br. IV. 18. 6 tad eva brabma tvam viddbi ,
“ vtddhi ” is perhaps primarily “know” and secondarily penetrate. Nirvedhya , from
vyadh, may be noted in the Divyavadana as “intuition” or “intellectual penetration.”
We think, that in the same way Vedic vedhas is “penetrating” in this sense, and
to be derived from vyadh rather than from vid; and hence primarily equivalent to
t led bin, marksman in the sense of Aland . Up., and secondarily “wise” or
“gnostic”. Consider for example Rv. X. 177. 7 (Jaimimya Up . Br. III. 35. 1)
Patahgam...hrdd pasyanti manasa vipascitah, maricinam padam icchanti vedhasah.
An interpretation in terms of archery is, if not indeed inevitable, at least quite
possible. For vipahitab is not simply “wise”, but rather “vibrant” (cf.
“Shaker” = Quaker), and vip may mean an arrow, as in Rv. X. 99. 6 “He smote the
boar with bronze-tipped shaft” (vipa varaham ayas-agraya ban , — incidentally ay as-
4 1
Symbolism of the Dome
that mark, my friend. OM is the bow, the Spirit ( atman ) the
arrow, Brahman the mark to be penetrated by one abstracted from,
sensuous-infatuation : as is the arrow, so should he become of that
same nature” ( saravat tanmayo bhavet ), i.e. of the nature of That,
agra does not invalidate the mythical origin of the arrow previously cited, inasmuch
as the one foot of the Sun, which is also the Axis of the Universe and lance
wherewith the Dragon was smitten is itself "a golden shaft at dawn and one of
bronze ( ayas ) at dusk”, Rv. V. 62, 8). Icchanti is from to “desire” or “seek”
or “have as one’s aim” (Grassmann, “Die urspriingliche Bedeutung ist sich nach
etwas in Bewegung setzen”), a root distinguished in conjugation but originally
identical (Grassmann, “urspriinglich gleich”) with is to “propel” (Grassmann,
“in schnelle Bewegung setzen”), whence isu , “arrow”. We translate accordingly,
that is, with specific reference to the imagery of Mund. Up. II. 2, as follows : “Intel-
lectually, within their heart, the vibrant (prophets) descry the winged (Sun =
Spirit), — marksmen ( vedhasah ) whose aim pursues the pathway of his rays”.
When in the Mahavrata “They cause a skin to be pierced (yyadhayanti) by a
man of the princely caste”, by the best available archer {Attar ey a Aranyaka, V.
1. 5, cf. Keith, Sahkhayana Aranyaka. pp. 80 ff.), which skin is the Sun himself in
a likeness {Kathaka Sambitd , XXXIV. 5), this is evidently a symbolic penetration of
the sense of the Mundaka text, of which the very words tad veddhavyam somya
vtddhi laksyam tad evaksaram somya viddhi might suitably have been ad-
dressed to the archer in the ritual, as he stood before his solar target. According to
Keith {Attareya Aranyaka , p. 277, note 13 and loc. at.) “The idea is clearly a rain-
spell”. Something of this kind may indeed have been involved, not in the penetra-
tion of the Sun, but in the ritual “intercourse of creatures” ( bhutdnam ca maithunam)
the fall of rain being a consequence of the marriage of Heaven and Earth (. Panca -
vimsa Br. VII. 10. 1-4, VIII. 2. 10, and more especially Jaiminiya Brahmana I.
145, “Yonder world thence gave rain to this world as a marriage gift”). But the
modern scholar is far too ready to resort to naturalistic and rationalistic explanations
even when as in the present case the most obvious metaphysical interpretations are
available. The whole context has to do with the attainment of Heaven; and even
the “intercourse of creatures” is not primarily a “magical” (fertility) rite, but an
imitation of the conjunction of the Sun and Moon “at the end of the sky, at the
Top of the Tree, where Heaven and Earth embrace” {dyavaprthivi samsltsyathah)
and whence “one is altogether liberated through the midst of the Sun” {Jaiminiya
Up. Brahmana , I. 3. 2 and I. 5. 5, cf'. my “Note on the A£vamedha”, Archiv
Oriental ni t VIII, p. 315)*
When we assert the priority of the metaphysical significance of a rite, we are
not denying that there may have been then as now avidvansah for whom the given
rite had a merely magical character: we are deducing from the form of the rite
itself that it could only have been thus correctly ordered by those who fully under-
stood its ultimate significance, and that this metaphysical significance must have
MARCH, 1938 6
4 2 Symbolism of the Dome
the mark to be attained. It is only as no man to whom soul-and-
body are “himself”, no man who still conceives “himself” to be
so-and-so, but as one who recognizes in “himself” (atman) only the
immanent Spirit ( sariratman , dehin ), and moving in the Spirit
(atmany etyd) or as our text expresses it, making of himself a purely
spiritual arrow, that any man can hit That mark so as to be
confused with It, as like in like: just as, in more familiar imagery,
when rivers reach the sea, their individuality is undone, and one
can only speak of “sea” (Prasna Up. VI. 5).
The flight of our spiritual arrow is a flight and an emergence
from a total darkness underground and the chiaroscuro of space un-
der the Sun into realms of spiritual light where no Sun shines, nor
Moon, but only the light of the Spirit, which is Its own
illumination.’ 1 Now, as we know from texts too many to be cited
been understood in the same way by the evamvit; just as a mathematical equation
presupposes a mathematician, and also other mathematicians able to riddle it. That
the modern scholar trained in a school of naturalistic interpretation is not a “mathe-
matician” in this sense proves nothing; “For the Scriptures crave to be read in that
spirit wherein they were made; and in the same spirit they are to be understood”
(William of Thierry, Golden Epistle, X. 31).
51 None of this runs counter to the indefeasible principle that “the first begin-
ning is the same as the last end.’” If the “long ascent” ( Aitareya Br. IV. 20-21)
is apparently a departure from the chthonic Serpent, a release from the bonds of
Varuna, it is also a return to Varuna, to the Brahman, who is no less above than
He is below the Serpent in His ground : which “ground” is that of nature below,
and of essence above, which nature and which essence are the same in dtvints, and
omnipresent; Ananta girdles these worlds. For the ophidian nature of the Godhead
see my “Angel and Titan” and “Darker side of Dawn”, to which may be added
the explicit formulation of Mttndaka Up. I. 2. 6 where the Btahman is described
as a “blind ( — worm) and deaf ( — adder)), without hands or feet” ( acaksuhsrotram
tad apany apadam) y as is Vrtra in Rv. I. 32. 7, Kunaru-Vrtra in III. ( budhne rajasah)
in IV. 1. 11, and Ahi in Satapatka Br. I. 6. 3. 9; cf. Av. X. 8. 21 apad agre sama-
bhavat, etc; with this “Footless he first came into being” compare Shams-i-Tabriz,
Diwan XXV in Nicholson’s edition, “The last step to fare without feet”. Ahi is
understood to mean “Residue” (Jaimiriiya Br. III. 77), and this is, of course, the
evident meaning of “Sesa”, as being “that which is left”, sisyate . It
is from this Endless Residuum ( ananta , sesa) that one escapes at birth, and as and
into the same Endless Residuum that one escapes from birth. There is no need
43
Symbolism of the Dome
here at length, it is through the Sun, and only through
the Sun, the Truth (sat yam), and by the way of the Well
at the World’s End, that there runs the road leading from
this defined Order (rta, kosmos) to an undefined Empyrean. It is
to cite texts to show in what way the Brahman-Atman is Endless ( arianta ), but we
shall quote two in which the Brahman-Atman is defined as the Residuum from
which one departs at birth, and as the Residuum as and into which one re-enters
at last: Brhadaranyaka Up. V. i, where the ancient Brahman is called a “plenum
that is left behind ( avasisyate ) as a plenum, no matter what has been deducted from
it”, and Chandogya Up. VIII. i. 4-5 where when the soul-and-body vehicle perishes,
“what is left over ( atisisyata ) therefrom is the Spirit” ( atman ).
Let us remark at this point that the well-known symbol of the Serpent biting
its own tail is evidently a representation of the Godhead, the Father, and of Eter-
nity : as Jeremias has expressed it “Das grossartige Symbol der Schlange, die sich
in den eigenen Schwanz beisst, stellt den Aeon dar” [Der Antichrist in Geschichte
and Gegenwart, 1930, p. 4).
We speak advisedly of a re-entry “as and into” the Ophidian Godhead : the
“return to God”can only be in likeness of nature. It can be only as a snake that
one can be united to the “Snake without End”, as a circle superimposed on a circle
coincides with it. This does not, however, mean that the way from snakehood to
snakehood which passes through the Sun, is meaningless for the snake that proceeds
[atisarpatt)\ on the contrary, it is by means of the sacrifice, the incantation, and by
reduction of potentiality to act, that the livid scaly snake-skin must be cast,
and a sunny skin revealed; it is as a streak of serpentine lightning that
the Wayfarer returns to the source from which he came forth, for which source and
now goal no other symbol than that of lightning is adequate, “The Person seen in
the Lightning, — I am He, I indeed am He” [Chandogya Up. IV. 13. 1, cf. Kena
Up. 29-30). It will not be overlooked that in Indian iconography, lightnings are
commonly represented in the form of golden snakes.
The foregoing is based on the references cited and on materials collected for a
discussion of the symbolism of lightning. In addition there can be cited some
Buddhist texts in which the arhat is called a “serpent” in a laudatory sense. In
Majjhtma Nikaya I. 32, for example, the arhats Mogallana and Sariputra are Maha-
naga, a “pair of Great Snakes.” This is explained, ib. I. 144-5, w k ere an anthill is
excavated (anthills are in fact often the homes of sankes, and in Rv. are evidently
symbols of the primordial mount or cave from which the Hidden Light is released),
and when there is found a snake at the very base of the mound (which is called
a “signification of the corruptible flesh”) there is found a Naga, it is explained that
this Serpent is a “signification of the Mendicant in whom die foul-issues have been
eradicated”, i.e. of an arhat , cf. Sana Nipata 512, where “ Naga 3 is defined as “one
who docs not cling to anything and is released” [sabattha na sajjati vimutto). From
44
Symbolism of the Dome
“through the hub of the wheel, the midst of the Sun, the cleft in
heaven, that is all covered over by rays, that one is altogether libe-
rated” (Jai. Up. Br. I. 3. 5-6). The Sun is the world-gate ( loka -
dvara), which admits the Comprehensor into Paradise, but is
a barrier ( nirodha ) to the ignorant” (Cha. Up. VIII. 6. 6, cf. Jai. Up.
Br. I. 5 and III. 14). The question is asked accordingly “Who is
qualified ( arhati ) to pass through the midst of the Sun? (Jai. Up.
Br. I. 6. 1, cf. Katha Up. II. 21 has tarn devam jnatum
arhati).* 2 The “arhati” immediately reminds us of those arhats
the first of these two passages it is evident, of course, that the “Naga” in question
is a snake and not an elephant. To these instances may be added the case of the
death of Balarama related in the Mausala Parvan of the Mahabharata , where Bala-
rama, being seated alone and lost in contemplation, leaves his body in the shape
of a mighty Snake, a white Naga, having a thousand hoods and of mountainous
size, and in this form makes his way into the Sea.
The formulations outlined above may be said to offer an intelligible explana-
tion not merely of many aspects of Indian iconography, but also certain aspects of
that of Greek mythology, where Zeus is not only represented as a solar Bull, etc.,
but also in his chthonic aspect of Zeus Meilichios as a bearded Serpent, and where
also the Hero, entombed and deified, is constantly depicted in the same manner.
52 It is, of course, the Pathfinder, Agni, arhat in Rv. I. 127. 6, II. 3. 1 and X.
10, 2, who first “ascended, reaching the sky; opened the door of the world of
heavenly-light (svargasya lokasya dvaram apdvrnot ); and is the ruler of the heavenly-
realm” ( Aitareya Br. III. 42); it is “by qualification” (arhana) that the Suns partake
of immortality (Rv. X. 63. 4). In the same way the Buddha (who is none other
than the Man Agni) opened the doors of immortality for such as have ears (aparnta
tesam amatassa dvara ye sotavanto * Mv. y I. 7), and as M. Mus expresses it, “Having
passed on for ever, the way remains open behind Him” ( loc . cit. p. *277).
The Christian parallel is evident, since Christ also prepared the way, ascended
into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God. The opening of the gate is dis-
cussed by St. Thomas, Sum. Theol. III. 49. 3 “The shutting of the gate is the
obstacle which hinders men from entering in on account of sin
Christ by His Passion merited for us the opening of the kingdom of heaven, and
removed the obstacle, but by His Ascension, as it were, He brought us to the
possession of the heavenly kingdom. And consequently it is said that by ascending
He opened the way before them ” And just as Agni, whether as Fire or Sun, is
himself the door (aham devanarn mukba, faiminiya Up. Br. IV. n. 5), so “I am
the door: by Me if any man shall enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and
out, and shall find pasture” John, X, 9), i.e. shall be a “mover at will” (kamacarin).
In this connection Meister Eckhart comments (I. 275) “Now Christ says ‘No man
Symbolism of the Dome qij
who ascend in the air, pass through the roof-plate ( kannikd -
mandalam) and are “movers at will .
Before proceeding to consider these, however, we shall cite the
account of the Comprehensor’s passage of the Sun from Maitri Up.
VI. 30, the wording of which is closely paralleled in texts' already
cited and in the Buddhist texts to follow. Here, then, it is said that
the “Marut” (i.e. the King Brhadratha, the “Lord of the Mighty
Chariot” and disciple of Sakayanya, ib. II. 1) “having done what
had to be done ( krtakrtyah , i.e. as one “all in act”) departed by the
northern solar course, than which there is indeed no other path.
That is the path to Brahman (whence as may be interjected from
Chandogya Up. IV. 13. 3-6, “there is no return”); breaking
through the Solar Gate, he made his way aloft” {sauram. dvaram
bhitvordhvena vinirgata). At this point the text makes a direct
transition from the preceding narrative of what is apparently an
outwardly manifested miracle to a formulation of this ascension in
terms of the “vectors of the heart” ( hrdayasya nadyah, Chandogya
Up. VIII. 6. 1, q.v.), which “vectors” are the channels of the solar
rays and breaths of life “within you”. All but one of these vectors
“are for procedure hither or thither”; only that one which passes
vertically upward and emerges from the crown of the head “ex-
cometh to the Father but through Me’.” Though the soul’s abiding place is not
in Him, yet she must, as He says, go through Him. This bteaking through is
the second death of the soul, and far more momentous than the first”. With the
expression “breaking through” may be compared to both “breaking through the solar
gate” {sauram dvaram bhitva , Maitri Up. VI. 30) and “breaking through the
round of the roof -plate” {kanmka-mandalam bhndiiva , Dhammapada Atthakatha
III. 66, to be cited again below).
To hrdayasyagra, “apex of the heart” corresponds the Islamic ‘ayn-i-qalb,
“eye of die heart”; which apex or eye is the Sun-door within you.” Cf. Frithjof
Schuon, “L’ocil du coeur”, in Le Voile d'lsis, vol. 38, 1933, citing Mansur al-
Hallaj, “I have seen my Lord with the eye of my heart ( bi-ayn-i-qalbi)\ I said,
Who art thou? He answered, Thyself; and Jaiminiya Up. Brahmana, III. 14.
5 where the Comprchensor, having reached the Sun, is similarly welcomed, “who
thou art, that am I; who am I, that one art thou; proceed.”
46 Symbolism of the Dome
tends to immortality”, i.e. the Brahma worlds beyond the Sun. At
death, “the apex of the heart is illuminated (hrdyasyayagram pra-
dyotate ); by way of that illumined point the spirit departs (atma
niskrdmati ), either by way of the eye, or head, 53 or other part of the
body; ahd as it goes, the breath of life follows” ( Brhadaranyaka Up.
IV. 4. 2). For “the rays of Him (ftie Sun) are endless. Who as
53 It is generally understood that the spirit of the Comprehensor, having left
the heart, departs through the suture called brahmarandhra in the dome of the
skull, that suture, viz. which is still open at birth, but closed throughout life.
Brahmarandhra is lacking in Acharya’s Dictionary of Hindu Architecture , but there
is good evidence in the (quite modern) Brhadisvara Mahatmya , ch. XV, that the
opening in the top of a tower (the “eye” of the tower, as explained above) has
been called by this name. The story (which closely parallels that of Sudhamma
related in Jataka I. 200-1 and Dhammapada Atthakatha, I. 269, sec my “Pali kannika
” p. 239) runs that a pious woman besought the builders of the great gopura of
the Tanjore temple ( ca . 1000 A.D.) to make use of a stone piovided by herself,
“and accordingly it was used for closing the brahmarandhra ” (Somasundaram, J.M.,
The Great Temple at Tanjore , Madras, 1935, pp. 40-41).
The brahma-rand hra is precisely in medical language what is called the foramen.
This foramen is the very word employed by Ovid (and no doubt as a technicality)
1 1 denote the hole intentionally left in the roof of the temple of Jupiter, immediately
above “old Terminus, the boundary stone” to whom “it is not allowed to sacrifice
save in the open air” (Harrison, J., Themis , p. 92, with a further reference
to Vergil ad Aen. IV. 48 as commented by Servius) : “Even today, lest
he (Terminus) see aught above him but the stars, have tempie roofs their litdc
aperture” ( exiguum foramen , Ovid, Fast. II. 667).
Terminus, whose place in the Capitoline temple of Jupiter was in the central
shrine, and evidently in the centre of this shrine, was represented by a column,
which is not really the symbol of an independent deity, but the lower part of the
column which stood for Jupiter Terminus, on a coin struck in honor of Terentius
Varro (for which, and other data, see Darembcrg, Die. des Antiquites grecques et
romains, s.v. Terminus). Thus whereas termini, as boundary posts in the plural,
are placed at the edges of a delimited area, the Terminus of all things occupies
a central position, and is in fact a form of our cosmic axis, skambha, stauros. It may
be added in the present connection that Skr. siman (from si, to draw a straight line,
cf sit a, “furrow”) is not only in the same way a boundary mark and in other con-
texts the utmost limit of all things, but also a synonymn of brahma-randbra.
It will be observed that our foramen, identifiable with the solar ^doorway, is
ideally situated at the summit of the cosmic stauros, and is quite literally an “eye”.
We can hardly doubt, accordingly, that no mere figure of speech, but a traditional
Symbolism of the Dome 47
its lamp indwells the heart Of which, one standeth upward,
breaking through the solar orb (bhitva surya-mandalam) and over-
passing ( atikramya ) into the Brahma- world, thereby men attain their
final goal (Maitri Up. VI. 30). It is thus that one ''wins beyond
the Sun”, param adityaj jayati, Chandogya Up. II. 10. 5.
We proceed to an analysis of the significance of the dome and
roof-plate* using as key the various accounts of the miraculous
powers of the Buddhist arhats, “spiritual adepts”, by which
powers ( iddhi ) they are able to rise in the air, and if within a roofed
structure to emerge from it by “breaking through” the roof-plate,
and subsequently moving at will in the beyond.
We shall first consider the case in which this power is exercised
out of doors, and where there is therefore no reference to an artificial
roof-plate; and it will be necessary to consider the nature of the mir-
acle itself, which as we have already seen can also be thought of as
an interior operation, before we make use of it in explaining the
symbolism of the dome itself. In Alilindapahha 85, the power
(iddhi) of travelling through the sky is explained as consisting in an
symbolism is involved in the saying “It is easier for a camel to go through the
eye of a needle (foramen aens in the Vulgate) than for a rich man to enter into the
kingdom of God ’ (Matthew, XIX. 24), where indeed “eye of the needle” might have
been a better rendering. Brahma-randbra and foramen, it may be added, imply
by their physiological reference that the temple has been thought of not merely
a,» in the likeness of the cosmic house of God, but at the same time as an image of
the cosmic body of God (into which He enters and from which He departs by an
opening above, the solar door, of which Eckhart speaks as “the gateway of His
emanation, by which He invites us to return”).
It may be further remarked that a comparison of die human head with the.
spherical cosmos occurs in Plato (Ti. 44 D ff.; for further references see Scott,
Hermetica , Oxford, 1925, II, p. 249.). Incidentally the saying that in man “there
is nothing material above the head, and nothing immaterial below the feed’ is far
from unintelligible; the “Man”’ is cosmic; what is above his head is supra-cosmic and
immaterial; what below his feet is a cbdionic basis which is his “support” at the
nether pole of being; the intervening space is occupied by the cosmic “body”, in
which there is a mixture of immaterial and material.
48 Symbolism of the Dome
intellectual virtue analogus to that sort of mental resolution by
means of which, in ordinary jumping, “one’s body seems to be
light” when the moment for taking off arrives. In Jataka V. 125-7
we have the case of the Elder Moggallana, an arhat, who by means
of his miraculous power ( iddhi-balena ) is able to visit Heaven or Hell
at will. This Elder, being in danger of death at the hands of cer-
tain evilly-disposed persons, “flew up and made off” (ttppatitva
pakkami). Upon a subsequent occasion, because of a former sin of
which the trace remained in him, he “could not fly up in the air”
(akase uppatitum nasakkbi). Left for dead by his enemies, he never-
theless recovered consciousness, and “investing his body in the cloak
of contemplation” (jbana-vetbanena sariram vethetva), he “flew off
into the Buddha’s presence” and obtained permission to end his life.
At the close of the subsequent “Story of the Past” related by the
Buddha we are told that the assembled Prophets (isiyo) also “flew
up into the air and went to their own places ”.
We hardly need to go beyond these texts for an adequate indi-
cation of the true nature of the “power” ( iddhi ) of flying through
the air. In the first place it may be observed that uppatitva, “flying”
implies wings, as of a bird ; 0 1 and that wings, in all traditions, are
the characteristic of angels, as being intellectual substances indepen-
dent of local motion; an intellectual substance, as such, being imme-
diately present at the point to which its attention is directed. It is
in this sense that the “Intellect is the swiftest of birds” ( manah
javistam patayatsv antah, Rv. VI. 9.5); that the sacrificer endowed
by the singing-priest with wings of sound by means of the Syllable
(OM) is supported by these wings, and “sits without fear in the
54; Or those of an arrow, cf. the discussion of Mundaka Up. II. 2, above.
The Sun, identified with the Spirit (Rv. I. 115. 1 etc.) being typically winged
[suparna, patahgd, gdruda, etc.) can be entered into as like unites with like only
by a similarly winged principle : in the present contest, by the arrow of the Spirit,
soaring on wings of sound or light, coincident at this level of reference.
Symbolism of the Dome * 49
world of heavenly-light, and likewise goeth about “(acarati, Jaimi-
niya Up. Br. III. 14. 9-10), i.e. as a “mover at will” ( kamacarin ),
cf. Pancavimsa Br. XXV. 3. 4 “for wherever a winged thing would
go thereunto it comes ; and that of such as ascend to the top of
the Tree, those that are winged fly away, the wingless fall down :
it is the comprehensors that are winged, the ignorant wingless”
(Pancavimsa Br. XIV. 1. 12-13). 55
In the second place it will be observed that the power of motion
at will presupposes a state of perfection, that of one who can be
thought of as arhat , or in other terms krtakrtyah , sukrtah, krtatma :
it is inhibited by even a trace of defect. And finally, the very striking
expressions “flew up into the air” and “investing his body in the
cloak of contemplation” imply at the same time an “ascension” and
a disappearance”. The meanings of vethetva = vestitva include
those of “wrapping up”, “enveloping”, and “veiling”, and hence of
“concealing” that which is enveloped, which in the present case is
the body (sartram) or appearance (rupam) of the person concerned. ’ 0
55 Similarly Shamas-i-Tabriz, Diwan XXIX and XLIV in Nicholson’s edition,
“Fly, fly O bird, to thy native home, for thou hast escaped from the cage, and thy
pinions are outspread Fly forth from this enclosure since thou art a bird of die
spiritual world/’
56 Cf. the use of vest in Manu I. 49, where creatures are described as ‘en-
veloped by darkness’ ( tamasa vestitah ); and Svet. Up. VI. 20 “Not until men
shall be able to roll up space like a skin” ( carmavat dkdsam vestayisyanti ), — -
impossible for man as such.
It may be added that vethana = vest ana is very often employed to denote not
merely a wrapping of any sort but more specifically a head-cover or turban. We
might accordingly, and with reference to the familiar folklore motif of the cap of
darkness (of which the possession signifies an icldhi of the sort that we are now con-
sidering), have rendered jhana-vethanena sariram vethetva pakkdmt by “conceal-
ing his person by means of the turn-cap of contemplation, disappeared.”
This provides a further illustration of the fact, alluded to in a previous note,
that what is called the “marvellous” in folk and epic literature, and thought of as
something “added to” a historical nucleus by the irregular fantasy of the people
or that of some individual litterateur, is in reality the technical formulation of a
metaphysical idea, an adequate and a precise symbolism by no means of popular
origin, however well adapted to popular transmission. Whether or not we believe
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938 7
50 Symbolism of the Dome
The primary senses o£ pakkami — prakramit are “went forth”,
“made his exit”, or as in our rendering, “made off”, or
“disappeared” as in Cowell and Francis (Jataka, V. 65).
What is really involved and implied by an “investiture of the
body in the cloak of contemplation” is a disappearance into one’s
spiritual-essence, or “being in the spirit” {atmany antarhita, guha ni-
bita, atmany etya ); 57 just as in Manu I. 51, where the manifested
in the possible veridity of the miracles attributed to a given solar hero or Messiah,
the fact remains that these marvels have always an exact and spiritually intelligible
significance: they cannot be abstracted from the “legend” without completely de-
naturing it; this will apply, for example, to all the “mythical” elements in the
nativity of the Buddha, which moreover are repetitions of those connected with the
nativities of Agni and Indra in Rv.
In the present connection we may point out further that the phraseology of our
text throws some light on die nature of the power of shape-shifting and of im-
posing a disguise on odiers, which powers are so often attributed, for good or evil,
to the heroes of folklore. If to disappear altogether is really to have perfected a
contemplative act wherewith the person concerned in a spiritual sense escapes from
himself so that he no longer knows “who” he is, but only that he “is”, and ana-
logically vanishes from the sight of others who may be present in the flesh, one
may perhaps say of die lesser marvel of magical transformation involved in the
imposition of an altered appearance upon oneself or others, diat th’s is in a similar
manner an investiture (yestana) of the body in a form diat has been similarly
realised in contemplation ( dhyana ), and thereafter projected and wrapped about one’s
own or another’s person, so diat only this disguise can be seen, and not the person
within it.
Finally, it must not be supposed that the actual exhibition of marvels has
any spiritual significance: on the contrary the exhibition of “powers” is traditionally
deprecated; it is only that state of being of which the powers may be a symptom
that can be called “spiritual.” It is, moreover, taken for granted that
any such powers can be more or less successfully imitated by the “black magician,”
in whom they prove a certain skill, but not enlightenment. There is this great
difference in the “traditional” and “scientific” points of view, that in the former
one would not be astonished, nor one's philosophy upset by the occurrence of an
actual miracle, while in the latter, while the possibility is denied, yet if the event
took place, the whole position would be undermined.
57 As in Rev. IV. 2 “I was in the spirit”, and I Cor., XIV. 2 “in the spirit
he speaketh mysteries.” A great deal more than metaphor is intended in Col.
II. 5 “For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying,
and beholding your order/*
Symbolism of the Dome gi.
Deity, having completed his creative operation, is described as
having “vanished into his own spiritual-essence ( atmany antar
dadhe, being accordingly atmany hita, antarhita, gttha nihita,
adrsya ), 58 super-enclosing time within time” ( bhiiyah kalam kalena
pidayan), 59 that is to say in the language of Genesis II, 2 “rested on
the seventh day from all his work which he had made”.
To have entered thus into one’s own spiritual-essence — atmany
antarhito bhUtva — , is to have realised that state of unification
{samadhi) which is in fact the consummation of dhyana in Indian,
as excessus or raptus is that of contemplatio in Christian yoga. Nor
could we understand the supernatural power of ascension and motion
at will otherwise than as a going out of oneself which is more truly
an entering into one’s very Self. One cannot think of the power
as an independent skill or trick, but only as function of the ability
to enter into samadhi at will and as a manifestation of that perfect
recollectedness which are in fact attributed to the arhat. To have
thus returned to the centre of one’s own being is to have reached
that centre at which the spiritual axis of the universe intersects the
In Rev. XVII. 3 “He carried me away in the spirit (abstulit me in spiritu),
cf. in the Samgamavacara Jataka ( Jataka II. 92) where the Buddha taking Nanda
(not yet an arhat having the power of aerial flight) by the hand, went off in the air
to visit the heaven of Indra,— abstulit corresponds to a being raptus, which is the
consummation of contemplatio. In these two cases the state of samadhi is rather
induced than innate.
58 Cf. Mahavagga I. 21 antaradhayi, “disappeared”, and Maphima Nikaya I.
329 antaradhayitum “to vanish”, and antarhito, “vanished.
59 That is, compressing past and present into the now of eternity; just as in
Svet. Up. VI. 20 it is a question of the “rolling up of space . Being thus returned
into Himself, He is “The hard to behold, abidcr in secret, set in the cave (of the
heart), the Ancient whose station is the abyss” (Katha Up. II. 12); He can be known
only by the contemplative, as the immanent Spirit, “abiding in the vacancy of
innermost being” or “within you”, antarbhiitasya khe, Maitri Up. VII. 11.
Expressed in the narrative terms of the myth, creation (in which He might
have been seen at work) being a past event is concealed from us because we cannot
pursue it at a greater speed than that of light, or in other words are “not in the
spirit”, which if we were, the whole operation would be presently apparent.
52 Symbolism of the Dome
plane on which the empirical consciousness had previously been ex-
pended; to have become if not in the fullest sense a sadhu, at any
sadhya, one whose consciousness of being, on whatever plane
of being has been concentrated at the “navel’’ of that “earth”, and
in that pillar ( skambha , stauros) of which the poles are chthonic Fire
and celestial Sun.
We have seen that the Breath-of-Life (prdnah), often identified
with the Spirit, and with Brahman, but more strictly speaking
the vital manifestation of the Spirit, the Gale of the Spirit insofar as
this can be distinguished from the Spirit at rest, departs from the
heart by its apex; and we know also that all the breaths-of-life
( prdnah), are as it were the subjects of the Breath (Prasna Up.
III. 4), and diverge into their vectors at birth and are unified
in the Breath, or Gale, when it departs, and hence it is that one says
of the dying man that “He is becoming one” (Upanisads, passim).
This supremacy of the Breath-of-Life lends itself to a striking archi-
tectural illustration, which we find first in the Aitareya Aranyaka,
III. 2, 1 ( Sahkhayana Ar. VIII) as follows: “The Breath-of-Life is
a pillar (prano vamsa). And just as (in a house) all the other beams
are met together ( samahitah ) in the king-post (sald-vamsa, “hall-
beam”), 60 so it is that in this Breath (the functions of) the eye, the
60 Vamsa is literally “bamboo”, and architecturally either a post or a cross-beam
such as a wall-plate. We assume that die sala-vamsa is here a king-post (either
supported by tie beams, or even extending to the ground, and in either case coin-
cident with the main axis of the house) rather than a ridge-pole, because it is only
in such a post that all the other beams, i.e. rafters, can be said to meet together.
And similarly in the Milindafanha passage below, we assume that kuta is
synonymous with kannika (as we know that it can be) and means roof-plate rather
than ridge-pole. If the meaning were “ridge-pole” in either or both cases, the force
of the metaphor would not, indeed, be destroyed, but somewhat lessened.
In this connection it may be noted that in Jataka I. 146, a “great blazing
kuta of bronze, as big as a roof-plate” is used as a weapon by a Yaksa (so kannika -
mattam mahantam adittam ayakutam gahetva). This seems to throw some light on
the obscure passages Jaiminvya Br. I. 49. 2 where the sacrificial victim “is to be
struck on the kuta " ( kute hanyat ), by which we should understand “on the crown
53
Symbolism of the Dome
ear, the intellect, the tongue, the senses and the whole self are uni-
fied” (samahitah). In order to grasp the connection of this simile
with the later Buddhist variant it is needful to observe that to be
samahita is literally the same as to be “in samadhi” In the Bud-
dhist variant we have, Milindapanha 38 (II. 1. 3): “Just as every
one of the rafters of a building with a domed roof ( kutagara ) go up
its roof-plate (kutahgama honti ), incline towards its roof-plate ( kuta -
ninna ), 62 and are assembled at its roof-plate { ' kutasamosarana ), and
of the head”; and ib„ 9 where a Season, described as “having a kuta in his hand”
( kuta-hastah ) descends on a ray of light” ( rasmina prtyavetya ), and since the Season
descends from the Sun and is the messenger of the solar Judge, we suppose again
that this means that he has in hand as his weapon a discus, analogous to the solar
disc, which is the roof-plate of the universe. Cf. Oertel in 7 AOS. XIX. m-112.
In the same way the discus ( cakra ) is the characteristic weapon ( ayudha ) of the
solar Visnu. Another use of die Sun in a likeness as a weapon can be cited in the
Mahavrata, where an Aryan and a Sudra struggle for a white round skin which
represents the Sun, and the former uses the skin to strike down the latter. Kuta-
basta dicn is tantamount to “armed with the Sun”.
Just as the sacrificial victim is to be struck “on the kuta’ , so also we find that
the deceased yogi’s cranium may be broken, in order to permit the ascension of the
breath of life; and in this connection Eliade (Yoga, Paris and Bucuresti, 1936,
p. 306) remarks that “Yoga has had an influence also upon architecture. The
origin of certain temple types, together with their architectonic conception, must be
explained by the funeral rites |1 ascetics”. Eliade gives references, and adds that
“the fracture of the skull (in the region of the hr ah mar and hr a, the foramen of
Monro) is a custom found in the funeral rites of many races. It is widespread too,
in the Pacific, India, and Tibet”. That it was also an American Indian practice is
known from the discovery in Michigan and elsewhere of perforated skulls; the
circular perforation of the foramen met with here can only have had a ritual signi-
ficance, as it is distinct from ordinary trepanning in that the operation was per-
formed post mortem. It would be perfectly natural to describe the perforation as
an “eye” in the dome of the skull.
61 Samadhi (n.) and samahita (pp.) are from sam-a-dha , to “put together”,
“make to meet”, “con-centrate”, “resolve”, and hence reduce to a common
principle”: samadhi is “composition* “consent”, and in yoga , the “consummation”
of dhydna , in which consummation or unification or at-one-ment, the distinction of
knower and known is transcended and knowledge alone remains.
62 As remarked in the previous note, we assume that kata is here a synonym for
kannika. Had a ridge-pole been meant, one could hardly have spoken of every
one” of the rafters as “converging” to it. Kutagara may indeed also mean a “gabled
54
Symbolism of the Dome
the roof-plate is called the apex (agga = agra) of all, even so, your
Majesty, every one of these skilful habits ( kusala dhammaf 3 has the
state of unification as its forefront (samadhi-pamukha honti ), inclines
towards the state of unification ( samadhi-ninna ), leans towards
the state of unification ( samadhi-pona ) and bears upon the
state of unification” ( samadhi-pabbharaj , 64 It will be seen that
samadhi here replaces the previous prdne samahita, affecting the
emphasis, rather than the essence of the meaning.
We are now in a position to consider the texts in which a
breaking through the roofplate of a house, and even a breaking down
of the house itself is spoken of. In Jataka III. 472 the arhat “flies
up in the air, cleaving the roof-plate of the palace” (akase uppatitva
pasddakannikam dvidha katva). In Dhammapada Atthakatha,
1.63, and arhat “flying up by his ‘power’, breaks through the roof-
plate of the peaked (or probably domed) house, and goes off in the
air”, lb. III. 66, the arhat Moggallana (cf. Jataka IV. 228-9)”
“breaking through the round of the roof-plate, springs into the air”
( kannika-mandalam bhinditva akasan pakkhandi), is incidentally
house”. But in the present context we have evidence that the house envisaged
had really a domed rather than a ridged, or even a pointed roof. This is indicated
by ninna , which implies that the rafters ( gepanasiyo ) arc curved, and the roof
therefore rounded; cf. the expression gopanast-bhogga, gopanasivanka , “bent like
a rafter”, used of women and old people (“bent”, i.c. curved, not bent double as
implied by the in PTS.).
63 Defined in Milindapahha 33, etc. as silam (conduct), saddha (faith), viriyam
(energy), samadhi (unification, or “one-pointedness of the attention”), with the
indriya-balani (sense-powers) and panna (insight, or more strictly speaking, fore-
knowledge). It will be seen that while the application in the Brahmana is strictly
metaphysical, that of the Buddhist text is rather more “edifying”. The Milinda -
panha passage is repeated elsewhere, see my “Early Indian architecture, III.
Talaces” in Eastern Art , III, p. 193.
64 Cf. in the Majjhima Nikaya. , I. 322-323, “Just as the roof-plate (kata) of
si domed-mansion (kutagarassa) is the peak (aggam) that ties together (samgha-
tanikam) and holds together ( samganikam ), just so the sheltering-roof of the Truth
(channam-dhammZnam) (is the peak that ties together and holds together the six
laudable states of consciousness)”.
55
Symbolism of the Dome
good evidence also for the circular form of the plate. Finally, Jataka
1.7 6, we have the Buddha’s song of triumph on the occasion of the
Full Awakening (mahasambodbi), in which he glories in the fact
that the house of life, the tabernacle of the flesh has once and for all
been broken down (gahakutam visahkhitam ). 0J
If we have not by any means exhausted the subject of the
symbolic values of Indian architecture, we may perhaps claim to
have shown that during a period of millennia this architecture must
be thought as having been not merely one of “material facts” but
also an iconography : that the form of the house conceived in the
artist’s mind as the pattern of the work to be done, and in response
to the needs of the householder (whether human or divine), actually
served the double requirements of a man who can be spoken of as a
whole man, to whom it had not yet occurred that it might be possi-
ble to live “by bricks and mortar only ”, and not also in the light
of eternity, “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
God”, by which we mean in India precisely what was heard
( smti = veda ), together with the accessory sciences (s astro), of which
the basic principles is to imitate what was done by the Gods in the
beginning, or in other words to imitate Nature, Natura Naturans,
Crcatrix, Deus, in her manner of operation. t,c By touching on the
subject of other things than buildings made by att, and that of
other than Indian architecture, we have implied that the metaphy-
sical tradition, or philosophia perennis, of which the specifically
65 The house of life, the spatial world of experience, is above all a half-way
house; a place of procedure from potentiality to act, but of no further use to one
whose purposes have all been accomplished and is now altogether in act We have
already seen the same idea (that of die no further validity of space) expressed in
anodier way by the miracle of the atonement of the four bowls. The cycle sym-
bolised by the building and destruction of the house, or division and unification of
the bowls, proceeds from unity to multiplicity, and returns from multiplicity to
unity; in agreement with the Buddha’s word, “I being one become many, and
being many become one” ( SdmyUtta Nikaya, II. 212).
66 For the Vedas as a “map of life”, cf. Satapatka Brahmana, XI. 5. 13.
5 6 Symbolism of the Dome
Indian form is Vedic, is the heritage and birthright of all mankind,
and not merely of this or that chosen people; and hence that it can
be said of all humane artistic operation that its ends have always
been at the same time physical and spiritual good. This is merely
to restate the Aristotelian and scholastic doctrine that the general
end of art is the good of man, that the good is that for which a need
is felt and to which we are attracted by its beauty (by which we
recognize it, as though it said, “Here am I”), and that the whole
or holy man has always been conscious at the same time of physical
and spiritual needs; and therefore not in any capacity merely a doer
or merely contemplative, but a doer by contemplation and a con-
templative in act.
Finally we contend that nothing has been gained, but very
much lost, both spiritually and practically, by our modern ignorance
of the meanings of superstitions, which are in fact “stand-overs”
that are only meaningless to us because we have forgotten what
they mean. If the thunder storm is no longer for us the marriage
of Heaven and Earth, but only a discharge of electricity, all that We
have really done is to substitute a physical for a metaphysical level
of reference; the man is far more a man who can realise the perfect
validity of both explanations, each on its own level of reference.
Of the man who could look up to the roof of his house, or temple,
and say “there hangs the Supernal Sun”, or down at his hearth
and say “there is the Navel of the Earth”, we maintain not only
that his house and temple were the more serviceable to him and the
more beautiful in fact, but in every sense much more such homes
as the dignity of man demands than are our own “machines to live
Ananda K. CoomaraswaMY
On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara
Of the three Brhatkatha 1 versions that have come down to us
the Kathasaritsagara of Somadeva, 2 a Kashmirian poet, was the first
tc be edited and published by Prof. Brockhaus (1839-66). A few
years later was discovered the second Kashmirian version, the
Brhatkathamanjari of Ksemendra. 2 These two versions attracted the
attention of great scholars like Dr. Biihler,* Burnell &c., who
pointed out the striking resemblances of the BKM. with the KSS.
Last to be discovered was the Brhatkathaslokasamgraha' of Budha-
svamin, an edition of which was published by Felix Lacote
(1908-1929). This is very dissimilar to the KSS. and BKM. and
shows forth in relief the resemblances already observed between
these two works. The KSS. was written by the Kashmirian poet
Somadeva in A.D. 1070, while the BKM. too, the work of another
1 It is believed that the Brhatkatha was written in the Paisaci language by
Gunadhya. There is much diversity m the opinion of scholars regarding the date
of Gunadhya and his composition. Biihler places him in the 2nd century or even
in the second half of the 1st century A.D. (Detailed report of a tour in search of
Sanskrit manuscripts , p. 47, J.B.B.R.A.S, , 1877); Macdoncll agrees with this view
(Hist, of Sk.t. Lit., p. 376); Weber, 6th century A.D. (Hist, of hid. Lit., p. 213 n.
4th cdn.); Speyer : 3th century A.D. (Studies about the Kathasaritsagara, pp. 45 ff-);
Keith: not later than 500 A.D. (Hist, of Skt. Lit. cd. 1928 p. 268); M. Lacote:
middle of 3rd cent. A.D. (Essal stir Gunadhya et la Brhatkatha , translated
by Father Tabard in the Mythic Society Journal, vols. 12 & 13, pp. 26 ff.); Dr.
S. Krishnaswamy Iyengar: 1st cent., A.D. (Foreword, pp. 1-2 of Father Tabard s
translation of Lacote’s Essay).
2 Though Somadeva’s KSS. was discovered and published earlier than the
BKM. of Ksemendra, the date of composition of the KSS. is later than that of
BKM. See Macdonell: History of Sanskrit Literature, cd. 1917, p. 376 (Soma,
composed about 1070 A.D., Ks. about 1037 A.D., also Sylvain Levi: Journal
Asiatique , 1 886, I, 216 ff., and Biihler, lnd. Antiquary, vol. I, pp. 304 ff.
3 See I A., I, pp. 304 ff.
4 Discovered in 1893. See Pandit Haraprasad Sastri’s article in the JASB.,
(LXII, 1893, I, No.. 3, pp. 245 ff.)2 also F. Lacote’s Essai sur Gunadhya et la Brhat-
katha, pt. II, ch. ii, p. 1 10. (our reference is always to the English translation of the
Essay by Tabard; see fn. 1).
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938
8
On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara
Kashmirian poet Ksemendra, was written at about the same time
i.e., about 1048 A.D. This fact as well as the resemblances referred
to above have led the above-mentioned scholars to the conclusion that
the immediate source of both KSS. and BKM. was the same.' 1 And
this is the generally accepted opinion today, although contrary opi-
nions were given expression to long ago by Pandit Kris h n amacharya , 0
5 Sten Konow (IA., XLIII, p. 66):
“I agree with M. Lacotc that the source of the two Kashmirian recensions of
the Brhatkatha, was not the old work of Gunadhya but a later work compiled _n
Kashmir, probably about the 7th cent. A.D.’’
A. B. Keith (A History of Ski. Lit., p. 275.):
“The Kashmirian recensions show themselves at once as vitally in contrast with
the Nepalese and leave no option but to assume that they are derived from
one source, and that not the original Brhatkatha ”
Winternitz ( Geschichte der lndtschen Luteratur, vol. Ill* p 318):
“What is most important for us is that nei tlier Somadeva has copied from
Ksemendra, nor Ksemendra from Somadeva but that both depend upon the same
source namely a recension of Gunadhya \s Brhatkatha, to which much new matter
had been added and which was current in Kashmir.”
Buhler (I A., I, p. 309):
“ All these circumstances make the statements of Somadeva and
Ksemendra that they remodelled a Prakrit original^ perfectly credible.”
Speyer ( Studies about the KSS., p. 27 ) :
“There can be not the least doubt about the existence in Kashmere in the nth
century of that vast encyclopaedia of tales in the Paisaci dialect which is acknow-
ledged as the common source of both BKM. and KSS.”
F. Lacote: "Essay”., p. 100.
“Neither is it absurd to suppose that the manuscript used by Somadeva was
not in all its parts identical with the one Ksemendra had used, and though it
might have been the same for the rest, it was different with regard to the books
Saktiyasas and the Sasankavati, (vetals) Everywhere there is an undeniable
unity of origin.”
6 Pandit Krishnamachaiya’s preface to Priyadarsika (Ed. V. V. Press,
Srirangam, Intro, page xlii).
tfpprrasrcft: era era i qasrrafwrc
fwfRRT aferaisflet I He^T ?'4 3T I srfqr STR
ffe^RT rr, ? qajfaRRWjpjR w.m
firfsrfeetf ? pr ssrcr STfrgeiM ife¥.«rnr ffeT
spra. “%Tg:” I
On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara 59
Dr. A. Venkata Subbiah 7 and more recently by Mr. C. D.
Chatterjee. 8 9
It is the object of this paper to show that the latter opinion is
correct and that the immediate source of the KSS. is different from
that of the BKM.
I. Order of the Lamhakas
Along with close similarity, there are also many differences
between the BKM. and KSS. The chief among them is the order
of the lambakas.
The following table will show the striking difference in the
order of the 18 lambakas of the two works.
BKM.
KSS.
I.
jvatnapitna
)
r
1
Kathapitha
2.
Kathamukha
1
j
Kathamukha
3 -
Lavanaka
> I
1 -!
Lavanaka
4
N ara vahanajanma '*
1
1
Naravahanadattajanma
5 -
Caturdarika
)
1
Caturdarika
6.
Suryaprabha
11
III
Madanamancuka
7 -
Madanamancuka
in
V
Ratnaprabha
8.
Vela
1
11
Suryaprabha
9 -
Sasankavati
1
VI (
Alankaravati
10.
Visamasila
1
1
Saktiyasas
1 1.
Madiravati
f iv
f
Vela
12.
Padmavati
1
1
iv 1
Sasahkavati
* 3 -
Panca
1
Madiravati
J 4 -
Ratnaprabha
V
(
Panca
l 5 -
Alankaravati
)
VII (
Mahabhiseka
16.
Saktiyasas
J VI
Suratamanjari
I 7 -
Mahabhiseka
1 VII
IV {
Padmavat
18.
Suratamanjan
Visamasila
7 Dr. A. Venkatasubbiah ( The Pancantantra of Durgasimha in Zll., vol. 7,
no. 1 , p. 28.) :
“The differences between So.s KSS. and Ks’s BKM. though not great are still
so marked that it is difficult to believe that both these books are immediately
derived from the same version of the BK. Rather it is more probable that they
are derived from two different versions of the BK.”
8 Mr. C. D. Chatterjee: ( Indian Culture , vol. I, pt. 2, p. 214 fn. 3):
“There is no reason to suppose that Ksemendra and Somadeva have based their
works on a common recension of the Brhatkatha available in Kashmir ”
9 All the names of the lambakas in both the works are the same except in
this case, Ksemendra giving a shorter name ‘Naravahanajanma’ in place of Nara-
vahanadattajanma’ of Somadeva.
60 On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara
From the above it is clear that the order ot the lambakas in the
two works is not the same. However there is no doubt that each of
the writers had before him some written original 10 probably in the
Prakrit, the translation or narration of which in Sanskrit, has resulted
in the KSS. and the BKM. All the scholars, who hold that the two
writers worked on a common original, are of course obliged to think
that one or the other of the two must have changed the original order
of the lambakas. Prof. Speyer 11 thinks that Ksemendra changed
the order and that it was Somadeva who drew up the faithful re-
production of the old Paisad poem, while Mankowski, 1 * Lacote,''’
Penzer 11 and others hold that Somadeva changed the order. The
arguments of all these scholars are based mainly on the following
three stanzas of the KSS.
jpn. ?T4tcf?r i
=4 faSRt 1 5 in »
10 So far as I know, it is only Pandit Krishnamachar who holds that the BK
was handed down to So. and Ks. by oral tradition. See Priyadarstka (V. V.
Press, Intro, p. xlii).
11 Prof. Speyer : — Studies about the Kathasaritsagara, p. 41 “It was he (Soma.)
who kept the original order of the Lambakas and not Ksemendra.’’ Also p. 36.
“The aforesaid considerations induce me to conclude that it was Somadeva, and not
Ksemendra who drew up the faithful reproduction of the old Paisad poem.”
12 L. von. Mankowski, p. ix of the “ Emleitung ’ of Dcr Auszug aus den Panca-
tantra in Ksemendra’s Brhatkathdmanjari, Leipzig. Harrassowitz 1892. “Somadeva
liimsclf intimates that he had changed the materials he took from the Brhatkatha”
13 Lacote (l.c., p. 91 ff.) “In my opinion he (Ks.) has simply followed the
composition of the original
On die contrary Somadeva would seem to have attempted to improve
the plan.”
14 Penzer (Ocean of Story. Terminal Essay, vol. IX, p. 115).
“It will thus be seen that the critical inspections of the work as presented by
Somadeva shows without doubt that the work has undergone much reshuffling as
far as the order of books is concerned. 5 ’
15 ‘matra bhasa ca vidyatc’ — Brockhaus; Peterson.
*matram bhasa ca vidyate’ — Hall (vas. p. 230.); S. Levi.
On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara 61
^ w*rftR f^rtq% 16 i
^ # 3 ht ii 1 1
3 TTT JT^T?T5?m: i
5 5 rRTW 5 rra^wt^%^ ii <r
These stanzas should be carefully studied, as they have been
translated in different ways. 17
S. Levi: “Such is the original, such is the copy of it. There
is not one line which deviates from it. My only work has been to
abridge and to translate. I have respected as much as I could the
literary fitness and the natural order. I have set up each of the sec-
tions of the poem in such a way as not to break off the stories or the
passions (rasas). My efforts will not gain for me the reputation of
a profound artist. My only object is to help my readers to remem-
ber without too great difficulty this enormous mass of stories of
every possible kind.” 1 *
/. S. S-peycr: “I have taken care to preserve the appropriate-
ness (of descriptions, diction etc. of the original work) and I have
added to it some qualities proper to a Kavya without, however, spoil-
ing by this the flavour of the talcs.” I have added elegance of
style and many a poetical ornament, yet so that I have not
deprived the talcs of their power express the rasas or sentiments
aimed at”. 19
16 ‘abhidhiyatc’ — Brockhaus; S, Levi.
17 I quote here only the translations of S. Levi and ). S. Speyer but the readers
may kindly refer to the following translations also :
Brockhaus — Quarterly Journal Myth. Society, vol. 13. Wilson— Works,
Repr. Essays, II, 109. Tawney — Ocean of Story, Ed. Pcnzer, vol. I, p. 2.
Lacote — 'Essai! Hall —Vasavadatta. Intro. p. 230. Paterson—
Kadambari 3rd ed. Intro, p. 96 n. L. Mankowski— Der Auszung aus
dem Pane . in Ks. BKM., pp. vii-ix.
18 JA., VIII, cs. VI, 421 and VII, 219-220.
19 Studies about the Kathasaritsagara , p. 23.
62
On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara
Prof. Speyer while explaining the word aucityanvayaraksa in
the above has criticised 20 S. Levi and others such as Tawney and
Mankowski, who agree with Levi. Later Levi’s translation has been
defended by F. Lacote . 21
S. Levi, Tawney and others while holding that Soma, “has
arranged each section of the poem’’ or that he has joined together
“portions of the poem,” so as not to interfere with the spirit of the
stones, have overlooked one point. The words yatha mulam.
tathaivaitat occur just after the list of the lambakas of the work,
supplied by the author. So, what should be the intention of the
author there? As he says yatha mulam tathaivaitat immediately
after giving out the names of the lambakas in order, even marking
them as the 10th, 12th and so on , 22 it is certainly more than clear,
that he thereby means to lay emphasis on the order of the lambakas
too, as having been so in the original. Etat then means here,
etatkrama-baddhastadasa-lambakatmakam grathanam. Thus the
stanzas referred to clearly state that the whole work is but a copy
of the original even as regards the arrangement.
20 Studies about the KSS pp. 22 ff.
21 Myth. Society Journal vol. 13, p. 96 n.
rt# tjcfW imi
cTcfr 11*11
ns 11
=qr*r crerrerfiPm 1
11 «n
fowflgraqt ne.11
On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara
6 3
Now coming to kavyamsasya ca yojand, I would have agreed
with Prof. Speyer regarding the meaning of kdvyamsa if he had
translated it as ‘some quality of the kavya ’ and not ' qualities
Kavyamsasya is in the singular. So the reference here is to that
one quality (not found in his original), added by him to his work.
What could that quality be? To me it seems to be his division of
the work into Tarahgas. Here we may note that the BKM. is
divided into gucchakas in accordance with its title Mahjari and the
KSS. into Tarahgas , — a term well-suited to the title Sdgara. This
is the only feature 2- ’ where Somadeva has deviated from the original
and that of course, to do justice to the title chosen for his work.
Thus, we have to conclude that Somadeva has been quite faith-
ful to the order of the lamhakas too, of the manuscript he used.
Then, has Ksemendra changed it? There is nothing to prove that
he has. On the other hand, as he was the first to give us in Sans-
krit a version of the Brhatkatha , which was till then only in the
I'aisdci tongue, we have every reason to believe that he must have
been true to the original he had secured. Moreover, in the upasam-
hara of the BKM. we have —
tfasTT IP. til
f?(T f^T 11
*i§rr ii}°n
which clearly tells us that this is nothing but a Sanskrit translation
of the ‘story in the Paisaci tongue,’ so that it might be easily under-
stood. Why doubt the sincerity of Ksemendra and his statement
ftrr { Hence, suffice it to say that both Somadeva
and Ksemendra adhered to their originals and that none of them
23 Ksemendra has also named some of his gucchakas; e.g. 1 . 2 Vararucimukti,
II i. Sahasranika-kalha; III. i. Sasahkavati; IX. i. Pracanda-sakti-samagama. Wc
do not find any such titles in the case of Somadeva s tarahgas.
64 On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara
changed even the order of the lambakas. So the difference in the
order of lambakas in BKM. and KSS. must be due to the different
manuscripts, the writers used.
II. Difference in the order and context of sub-stories
If the two writers had worked on the same source, naturally
the order of the sub-stones narrated in the several lambakas and their
contexts would have remained the same in both. But a close exami-
nation of the two works reveals that it is not the case. For instance,
the story of Muktaketu is told in the BKM. by Gomukha to Nara-
vahana, being asked by the latter to relate it (p. 443, st. -33 If.);
whereas in the KSS. the Hamsas relate it to Brahmadatta (pp. 542 &
1 15, st. 1 ff.); the story of Sundari is narrated in BKM. (p. 434,
st. 299 ff.) by a yogini to one of her followers, but in KSS. (p. 285,
st. 78 ff.) Narayani relates it at the request of the Alatrcakra. Com-
pare also the following table 21 which shows the difference in the order
of a few sub-stories : —
Lavanaka Lambaka
BKM.
KSS.
1 .
Parahita
1
I
The Clever Doctor
2 .
Vahillaka
11
IV
Parivrajaka & Vanara
3 *
Devasena
in
III
Unmadini & Devasena
4-
Parivrat
IV
II
Yaillaka
5-
Punyasena
I
r
Punyasena
6 .
Sunda & Upasunda
) V
V l Sunda & Upasunda
Madana Mancuka 25
1 .
Dharmadatta
1
1
Dharmadatta
2.
Vipracandala
11
111
Seven Brahmins
3 *
Sisya
hi
V
Brahmin & Candala
4-
Vikramasimha
IV
IV
Vikramasimha & the
two Brahmins.
5*
Ksamavadana
V
VI
Seven maidens
6.
Vairagyavadana
VI
V
Viraktarajaputra
24 This table is not exhaustive.
25 This is the 6th lambaka in the KSS. and the 7th in the BKM.
On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara
%
III. Difference in the number and situations in which the
Pahcat antra stories occur in the works
Another point diat should not escape our notice is about the
number, etc. of the Pancatantra stories. It is probable that the ori-
ginal Brhatkatha contained the Pancatantra and the Vetala stories. 26
So, the number of these stories and the position they occupy in the
BKM. and KSS. being different, we have to account for this
difference as only due to the two writers adhering to the number &c.,
which their manuscript sources contained. 27
The order and some details concerning the Vetala tales as con-
tained in the KSS. are again different from those in the BKM. (For
detailed information see Penzer’s Ocean of Story and also Speyer s
Studies , pp. 37 ff.).
IV. Difference in descriptions and stutis
We have also to note that the trend of the descriptions, stutis
etc. that we come across in the two works in corresponding places is
different. S. Levi and Speyer 28 have remarked that ‘Ksemendra has
a relish for expatiating in erotic matters’. F. Lacote observes ‘To
compare the stories in detail... would only show the bad taste
of Ksemendra, now dry, now verbose and affected, delighting at
times in erotic pictures at other times in pious amplifications.’ In
26 See ZIL , p. 28, Dr. A. Venkatasubbiah on the Pancatantra of Durgasimha
and also F. D. K. Bosch : De legende van Jimutavahana in de Sanskrit Literatur,
pp. 43 ft.
27 The following are the 5 stories contained only in the BKM.
1. The punished onion thief.
2. Blue jackal.
3. The cunning jackal.
4. Potter as warrior.
5. The sagacious hamsa.
For details regarding Pancatantra stories see Pancatantra Reconstructed by
Prof. Edgerton; “Das Pancatantra” and Translation (German) of the Tantrakbyayika
by Prof. Hertel; also Penzer’s Ocean of Story , vol. V.
28 Studies about the KSS.
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938
9
66 On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara
certain stories, we find even in Somadeva, unnecessary details, pro-
per names and erotic descriptions and it is really interesting to note
that when those situations are compared with the corresponding ones
in Ksemendra, many a time Ks. is silent over all these. Thus,
for instance, if we take the story of Kanakavarsa in Somadeva (KSS.,
p. 277, st. 25 ff.), it is too long with unnecessary details, names of
the relations of the hero and the heroine and their country, capitals
etc., and also descriptions (of a low taste) of the hero’s pose when
the painter went to see him (st. 40), the jalakrida of the hero with
all his wives (st. 115-121). But the corresponding story of Hiranya-
varna in BKM. is brief but clear and free from unnecessary proper
names and descriptions (of any bad taste).
Having really a great relish for describing such matters would
Ksemendra lose opportunities for doing so, if only his manuscripts
allowed him the scope? We do not deny that it is quite probable,
as Somadeva has no taste for such things, that he must hove cut
down the original length 20 of these descriptions considerably. Our
point is that only Ksemendra’s manuscripts did not contain these
matters in connection with those stories.
Similarly in the case of the stutis, we have many of them in the
two works in corresponding situations but very often we find the
trend of one differing from dhat of the other. An interesting ins-
tance would be the Narayana-stutiJ"' Both KSS. and BKM. are in
verse 31 from beginning to end. But so far as this stuti is concerned,
the author of the BKM. has recourse to prose. His style and the
matter of the stuti are entirely different from those of Somadeva.
These undoubtedly go to confirm our view about the manuscripts
they used.
29 I here refer to the probable length of these descriptions in the source of
Somadeva’s work.
30 BKM. p. 526; KSS. p. 171, ch. 54, Sis. 29-38.
31 The metre adopted is Anustubk by both writers.
On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsdgara 67
V. Absence of a few BKM. stories in the KSS. and vice versa
A notable feature of Ksemendra’s BKM. is that it contains a
few stories that are not found in the KSS. Even Prof. Speyer admits
that the extra details and stories supplied by Ksemendra are to be
traced to his source — the Prakrit(?) Brhatkatha of Kashmir.' 12 Then
why should we not go a step forward and say that Somadeva is silent
regarding these details and extra stories, just because the manuscript
he had did not contain them? The story of Yogananda (BKM.,
p. 206, st. 578 ff.) and Udayana’s visit to Patala (BKM., p. 38, st.
57 ff.) may be pointed out here as instances of stories not found in
KSS.“ Here it might be remarked that Somadeva is so slavishly
faithful to his manuscript that he narrates some stories twice and
thrice over 2 ' only because he found them repeated in his original.
Then would he omit to narrate a few stories (noted above) if he had
them in his original?
Also there is a good number of stories found only in the KSS.
but not in the BKM. which again supports our view. The following
are a few of such stories : Story of Karsaka (KSS., p. 146, st. 31 ff.)
Usa and Aniruddha (KSS., p. 137, st. 1 1 ff.); Nahusa and Sad
(KSS., p. 135, st. 75 ff.); Ruru and Pramadvara (KSS., p. 47, st.
76 ff.).
VI. Adore details in BKA 1
Another fact that has been noticed by scholars is that
Ksemendra’s brevity makes him unintelligible and his style is far
from being easy and flowing and that “in his excessive eagerness
for brevity, he sometimes becomes obscure”. But such a poet who
in his narration is brief, to the utmost extent, gives us at times more
information, details, etc. regarding certain persons and incidents
than the KSS. in corresponding stories. This is explained by
32 Studies about the KSS.
33 There are the five Pancatantra stories also (see fn. 27) not found in the KSS .
34 See Sect. VIII.
68 On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara
Prof. Speyer 3,5 as due to Soma.’s neglecting or missing a few details
while narrating an elaborate Katba. But, if the Professor were free
of the presupposition that both Ks. and Soma, worked on a common
recension, he would have certainly concluded from this, that the
additional details or information Ks. gives us was only in the manus-
cript he had secured and not in the one with Soma. Here I would
like to acquaint the readers with a few such cases.
BKM. KSS.
P. 406, 57-58.
The Brahmin gives an account of his
own story: how he got back even his
dead wife.
P. 486, st. 213.
Bhavasarman kills the witch too.
P. 168, st. 122.
Rambha instructs Susena that he
should not ask her who she was and
on that condition she lives with him.
P. 453, st. 44-49.
Vegavatl tells how she was refused
by her brother to be educated, how she
then went to her father’s hermitage
where she set a peacock to dance in an
excellent way, when she was carried
away by a demon and how the sages
became angry upon him at which his
curse came to an end and she too re-
turned to her father who was pleased
to give necessary instructions for her
education.
P. 69, st. 18 ff.
Vahillaka is an employee (minister)
of Visakhila a merchant and the latter
sends him out to sell precious stones.
P. 124, st. 1 12 ff.
Vijayadatta asks his father to bring
some fire from the burning pyre; com-
pelled by him the father Govindasvamin
goes to bring it, but Vijaya follows him
to the Smasana t breaks the Kapala and
when later he goes to kill his father he
is called away by an unknown voice
and his name then is Prakatadamstra.
Still later on, the demons call him
Kapalasphota and make him tHeir
chief.
35 Studies about the KSS.
t. 123, st. 341.
He simply says that he got back
even his dead wife (here he does not
say how he got her).
Nil.
t. 28, st. 60 ff.
No such condition.
t. 105, st. 68.
Her brother refuses to educate her.
She anyway becomes educated after
suffering much by the favour of
her father.
t. 15, st. 83 ff.
Yaillaka is the son of a merchant
and goes to another island on some
important business.
t. 23, st. 95 ff.
Vijaya, asks die father to take him
to the burning fire in the Smasana.
The father docs so out of love for
his child. There Vijaya breaks the
Kapala and then goes to kill his father
when he is called away by some un-
known voice — ‘Oh lord ! Kapalasphota
come away.*
On the Immediate Source of the ICathdsaritsdgara
69
P. 179-80, st. 265-69.
Kahrigasena asks her friend Soma-
prabha to show her her (So.’s) husband Nil.
Nalakubara; then So. advises her that
she should not ask for such things and
that it is bad for a young maiden of
her kind to be seen by a youth of loose
character etc.
Also note that the following information the BKM. gives is
not to be found in the KSS. :
BKM. p. 522, st. 158-165.
VII. Alore names in BKM
This point by itself might appear a minor one; but considered
along with the previous point, it certainly goes to prove that the origi-
nal sources of Somadeva and Ksemendra were different. In the BKM.
we find a number of proper names that the KSS. does not contain.
‘Stories in the Kathasaritsagara are, many a time, of anonymous
persons 38 but in the BKM. the dramatis personae of the correspond-
ing stories are always clear.’ We cannot attribute this difference to
either the ‘caprice’ of the writers or “the childish liking” for proper
names of Ksemendra, as we find also in Somadeva plenty of unneces-
sary proper names, that too where Ksemendra is unusually precise
and brief (cf. story of Vidyadhari, KSS., t. 56, st. 80 ff. and BKM.,
p. 534, st. 300 ff. ; story of Kanakavarsa KSS., p. 277 and BKM.,
P- 53 0 -
VIII. Repetition of stories
Another point worth noticing is that both BKM. and KSS.
contain some stories told twice and thrice, of course on different
36 Cf. BKM. 95-327 & KSS. t. 20-37; BKM - 61-190 & KSS. t. 13-93; BKM.
47-117 ff. & KSS. t. 10.
70 On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara
occasions. Many a time the version of the BKM. differs from that
of the KSS. To mention a few instances here :
Story of Jimutavahana
r t.
1 t.
22
KSS.
st. 16-257
L.
4
BKM.
st. 50-108-9
90
„ 3-201
L.
9 . 11
„ 776-930
„ Anangarati
r *.
5 2
„ 92-409
P.
326
„ 101-165
1 t.
83
„ 5'3 1
P.
518
>• 473-486
„ Viravara
f l -
53
„ 86-193
L.
>5
„ 189-193
l t.
78
„ 5-120
L.
9- 11
,. 263-332
r c -
j t t
■5
„ 63-78
L.
3
" 2 3'35
„ Unmadini
33
9 1
I I
„ 62-66
» 3-45
L.
9- n
.. 937-969
„ Candamahasena
r *•
1 t.
» 3 1 '73
L.
2. II
„ 27
& Arigaraka
1 12
„ 26-60
L.
18
„ 109
IX. Divergences in stories
Some scholars like Biihler and Speyer 37 have noticed some
difference even in the case of certain stories told by Soma, and Ks. and
they try to explain it as due to Ks.’s handling such stories freely, so
that they might agree with the Puranic versions. For a moment,
we might be inclined to agree with them if the divergences were
only with the Puranic stories. However we are going to point out
presently, that the divergence is in the case of stories other than
Puranic also. Hence if we should account for this satisfactorily, we
shall be obliged to trace the divergence to the sources of the two
works BKM. and KSS.
An account of three non-Puranic stories is given below for
purposes of comparison :
Story of Bhavasarman.
BKM., p. 485, st. 205 ff. KSS. t. 37 st. 148 ff.
A brahmin, Bhavasarman by name, The ox is later sold to some one who
once strikes Sumada, who in revenge uses it for carrying heavy articles,
turns him into an ox ( ^T^). A While he was leading the ox one day,
yogini seeing it restores him to his a yogini named Bandhamocini secs it
original form, though her follower and when he was away frees the ox
counsels her not to do so. By chance from that form and Bhava° regains his
Sumada passes by at that time, sees original human form. The man who
this and threatens the yogini saying “I had lost the ox, goes and reports the
will come to-morrow and kill you for matter to Sumada, who once notices
this.” The yogini then says to Bhava° Bhava° with the yogini. Then she
“Come to-morrow with your sword, warns her that she will kill her and
Sumada will come here in the form of Bhava° the next day. Bhava° is ready
37 IA„ I, I.c. Speyer: Of. cit.
P.n the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsdgara
7 1
a black mare I shall fight her a$ a white with his sword the next c'ay at the
marc; you kill her with the sword.” house of the yoginl and with the help
On the morning when the two mares of the yogmi who becomes a red
were fighting bhava° killed the black horse kills bumada who appeared there
mare, tne white mare and also the dis- in the form of a black horse,
ciple of the yogmi and went home.
(The monkey narrates this tale of
Bhava° to Niscayadatta).
Story of Hiranyavarna.
BKM., p. 531. KbS., p. 277, st. 25. ff. (Sec also VII)
Hiranyavarna king of Kancanapura Kanakavarsa, king of Kanakapura
married Madana-manjari daughter of marries Madanasundari daughter of
King of Vidarbha. Once Hir° had bad King of Vidarbha. He has some
dreams and so tried to propitiate dreams which are interpreted to give
Kumara but as the function was not him separation from his wife and son.
well performed he was cursed by But he has no son. So he is uneasy.
Kumara to lose his dear ones. Then his father’s sister a Nagi, by
The King too forgot in due course, all name Ratnaprabha , advises him to
about the dream and lived happily with propitiate Kumara. He does so and
his wife. After some time his wife has a son. But the child is taken
gave birth to a son but on the 7th day away by a lady on the 6th night
after delivery a certain lady entered the and the mother follows the lady
room and carried away the child, and enters a pool. Being very miserable
Madana 0 also followed her even into on account of the separation from his
the pool which the lady had entered wife and son the king goes to Vindhya
with the child. The king became once and there meets a Vidyadhara
miserable and while wandering, once originally named Bandhumitra who
he was advised by Bandhudatta to pro- advises him to propitiate Goddess Vin-
pitiate Parvati. That he did and later dhyavasini. He goes there accordingly,
his wife and child were restored to him or rather he is taken there by the Saba-
by Parvati. ras and there Vindhyavasini is pleased.
Later his father’s sister, the Nagi, re-
stores to him his wife and son.
Story of Somaka. Story of Jantu.
BKM., p. 39, st. 167-8. KSS., p. 41, st. 57 ff.
Somaka had an only son and on the A king had an only son named
advice of Brahmins he sacrificed jan- Jantu and 103 wives. Once he felt it
tunam amitam and got 100 sons. better to have many sons. Brahmins
advised him to sacrifice the flesh of
his only son, whereby he would get
plenty of sons. That being done he
got as many sons as he had wives.
Also, compare the Siiryaprabha Lambaka which is full of
divergences.
X. Difference in proper names
Now coming to the difference in proper names, the list we have
to give is fairly long but not exhaustive. Had the two writers used
a common original, certainly they would not have differed even
regarding proper names. So this leaves us no option but to con-
72 On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara
elude that they must have worked on two different recensions of the
Brhatkatha, available in Kashmir.
(i) Proper names entirely different in corresponding stories.
mfwgtf, 3 8 — qrafw ; •• #raT-
fMirn ; ; ffefer ; ; ; %f?rcrm-
; 5 W- 3 ^ ;
(tree) dffRt j Jrnfa-jtftPr ; (goddess); i
(ii) Partly different.
(a) Synonymous names : —
; qsm-qaRWT ; $1^-
5* ; ^g^-ssra^g?: ; i
(b) Other names : —
sifadta-stfaftra; ^ta-^rerrfircc. ; l W-wfw ; kr?ft-sr^ ; tfpns-
^rn ; ; fihPRfr-firpft ; ;
3N5PB3ct«rar ; spJTc^r-sssRrT ; f^qr^-f^cTJWi ;
fet ; qq^- 5 RR%?T ; ^WsT# 39 -^ f^T ; (city);
rr '"’(King) ^rm% 5 T qf<$n*i^ ; pt«rt qrp^r ; ;
irr?rmr-JTRTO ; ^faro^H&Tcfr ; ; swnw-g^ra^nr ;
W& (wm) city-^^gr ; pisfa, p>Tg*-5ft>g* ; *ratw-*ralm ;
; wgt-q^qff« ; *rqR^-?rr*rR*fa; ; qarfaqf-qwaqift ;
; ^gT-^gr ; ST^RtTW^tT ; (w) ;
ftqwgtf-*RTIsT ; ; SRg^-SRjfaw ;
(?qfa^*)%wrrg?: ; tfp&rc-spfcn: ; ;
?5 Eu fc; ; ; TOtfqft-TOW'A ; ;
; •^•■s.i^r-vRr^r ; %n q^ft i
38 The first name in each of these pairs belongs to the BKM. and the second to
KSS. The passages in the BKM . and KSS. where these names occur can be found
out easily by the reader, with the help of the Index in the printed editions of the
BKM . (Nirnayasagara Press) and in the Ocean of Story (translation of the KSS.) of
Tawney — ed. Penzer.
39 Prof. Lacote and many others hold that Ksemendra always chose a shorter
form of the proper names. But, these instances go to show that this view is not
correct.
On the Immediate Source of the Kathasaritsagara
73
(iii) Slightly different.
'TT^tT-'TIS# ; ; ^fcfcrat-
; ^5^-qRfpi ; ;
SJ^r-€^1 ;. 5F^pr-S5U=rg3T ; ; 3qtf%:SR-
I
Recapitulating in conclusion, we may state that (i) the differ-
ence in the order of the lambakas; (2) the difference in the order and
contexts of sub-stories; (3) the difference in the number of the Panca-
tantra stories; (4) the difference in descriptions and stutis ; (3) absence
of some BKM. stones in the KSS. and vice versa; (6) more
details in the BKM. than in the KSS., (7) more proper names
in the BKM.; (8) repetition of a few stories in both the works; (9)
striking divergence in stories, and (10) the remarkable difference in
proper names — all these leave us no option but to conclude that the
BKM. and the KSS. are to be traced to different sources. One of
these i.e. the source of the BKM. must have been in the Paisad
language (a kind of Prakrit) as it is clear from Ksemendra’s state-
ment —
fTOTCsrrfa qffraT fr^rar fsrersnfMt
f;3r frrcr 1
in the upasamhdra of his work. But in the case of the other, i.e.
the source of the KSS., there is nothing on which we could rely
and say that it was also in a Paisad language. 10
S. Rangachar
40 Lacote, Biihler and others hold that Somadeva worked on a Prakrit original,
basing their arguments on the words bbusa ca bhidyate. It is not possible to believe
that this means that die original was in Prakrit and that Somadeva chose Sanskrit
for his* composition. Those words may mean that the writer has narrated the tales
in his own words^-not in the words of the writer or compiler of his source.
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938 10
Raja Ramnarain
The mid- 1 8th century, in Indian history, is a period when
the mighty Mughal empire was in a state of disintegration. The
central authority lost all vitality and the provincial governors weie
usurping all powers. They appointed their own Naibs and Agents
and also their successors with but nominal concurrence of the
faineant sovereigns. At times, and here and there, we find settled
government and a genuine attempt at a strong and able adminis-
tration, but, peace and order was wanting throughout Hindusthan.
The revivalist spirit amongst the Hindus and the Afghan Mussul-
mans, the rise of ambitious and enterprising adventurers, both
native and foreign, and the diplomacy of the merchants of the
West were the causes of anarchy and disorder, chaos and confusion,
that set in after Nadir Shah’s invasion in 1739 and began to reign
supreme after the “removal of the recognised heads of the old
order”, both in the North and the South, in 1748-49. The field of
fortune was open to every one who could wield a sword and a gun
or use his intellectual gifts and talent for intrigues.
The history of the Eastern provinces, no less than that of the
rest of India, is a “complex subject in which personalities and
nationalities, diversities and contrarities, are combined and
confused.” Bengal, the eldorado of the east was specially the scene
of repeated revolutions, dark conspiracies, tragic murders and rapid
changes of government, due to the tricky ways of the upstart
rulers, the gold of the bankers, the veiled hostility of the natives and
the political pretensions of the astute foreign traders. Bihar, then a
subject, and frontier province, would hardly remain unaffected by
the political situation abroad. Ambition and intrigue, violence and
lawlessness had their full play and political talents often combined
with literary predilections to produce heroic figures. The ever
defiant Bhojporias, the adventurous Bhumihars, the talented
Kayasthas, the martial Afghans, the ambitious Iranis and even a
Raja Ramnarain
75 .
fugitive Prince-Imperial were the chief actors of the political drama
that was played in Bihar from the forties to the sixties of the 18th
century.
But by far the most interesting and fascinating personality
and one of the greatest personalities of the period in the history of
Bihar was a son of the soil of Bihar who was at first a silent specta-
tor of, and very soon a principal participator in, the political affairs
whose scene of activities were laid in this province. He was Raja
Ram Narain Mauzun, the poet-poll tican of Bihar, whose antece-
dents are shrouded in obscurity.
Contemporary historians tell us little about the early life and
family history of this great Biharee. Fortunately, unlike other poli-
tical characters in Indian history, Raja Ram Narain was an eminent
man of letters and a distinguished poet of Persian, and as such,
attracted the attention of many such people as had nothing to do
with politics. Regarding the parentage of Ram Narain, the
standard historians tell us nothing beyond the name of his father
and his caste. Only one of them, Ghulam Husain, the Patna his-
torian, refers to his early connection with the family of Aliwardi,
Mahabat Jang, 1 but he is silent about the position and personality of
Ranglal, who has been mentioned 2 as the father of Raja Ram Narain.
Karam Ali' 1 and Kalyan Singh/ indeed, write about one Ranglal
who was “a good chieftain” and who had been ‘‘deputed by
Aliwardi (in the battle of Gheria, April 1740), with a contingent of
troops against Habibullah Khan and Ghous Khan, who led the van-
guard of Sarfaraz’s army.” But we have to ascertain that this very
Ranglal was the father of Raja Ram Narain. A gentleman of this
name appears in the Calendar of Persian 5 correspondence as late as
1 Seyar-ul-Mtitakhinn (Nawal Kishore Press, p. 593).
2 Ibid., p. 593; Tarikh-i'Muzafjari, Ms. O.P.L. p. 399a.
3 Muzaffarnama , Ms. (O.P.L.) p 298.
4 Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, Ms. (O.P.L.) p. 80b.
5 Calendar of Persian Correspondence, vol. I, p. 11.
7,6 Raja Ramnarain
March 1 759 ■ we can dismiss this Ranglal, for he was probably
the Brahmin spy referred to by Mr. Hill in his book Bengal in
1 7 56 - 57 . It is strange that even Raja Durga Prashad, a represen-
tative of Raja Ram Narain, and a compiler of his Diwan, 6 or
collection of poems, says nothing about his ancestors, though
he furnishes us with the valuable information about village
Kishunpur of the Pergana of Sassaram in the district of ShahabaH,
having been the Watan-i-maloof or the dear native place of the
Raja. Fortunately about half a dozen manuscripts of the Patna
Oriental Library afford us much that is important. Wc know, for
instance, from the evidence of Brindaban Das, Khushgo' of
Mathura, Mir Ghulam Haider Bilgrami* of Patna, Lakshmi
6 Diwan-i-Mauzun, (Rai Mathura PrashacTs manuscript)* also printed by
Nawal Kishore Press, 1870.
7 Safina-i-Khushgo (O.P.L. Ms. No. 225-690). A very rare and valuable
Tadkirah of Persian poets by Brindaban Das, a Hindu of Bais caste and a native
of Mathura, who had adopted Khushgo (eloquent) as his pen-name. Siraj-
uddin Ali Khan Arzu, (died in 1169-1755), the well known author and critic, writes
in his great work, Makjma-un-Nafais (O.P.L. Ms. p. 137) that Khushgo enjoyed
the company of such eminent poets as Baidil, Sarkhush and Gulshan and was his
own constant companion for 25 years. After spending his days in piety at
Allahabad till the murder of its Governor, Nawab ‘Umdatul-mulk Amir Khan,
Anjam, to whom he dedicated his chief work, he began to reside at Benares and
Azimabad (Patna). We learn from Khushgo’s Own work, the biographical
dictionary referred to above, that ‘when he visited Patna for the first time*, he
could “set his temper right through the attention of that purchaser of hearts” i.e.
(Raja Ram Narain Mauzun) and that it was through “the Raja’s recommendation
that he secured service and means of livelihood from the Sarkar of the Martyr-
Nawab, Haibat Jang.” We read further “Even now when I happen to go to
‘Azimabad, I do so to see that incomparable friend and he looks „ after me even
during my stay at Benares.” We find mention of “a bill of exchange worth
Rs 863, by way of daily allowance for the passed days of Lala Khushgo” in a
letter, dated year 5th. i.e. 1752-3, addressed to Raja Ram Narain. According to
the author of Gul-i-Rana, Khushgo died at Azimabad (Patna) in 1170/1756 {G.R.,
p. 269).
8 A contemporary of Raja Ram Narain Mauzun, whose account of the Raja,
sent from Azimabad, has been embodied, verbatim, in his valuable work by Raja
I-achmi Narain, Shafiq, noticed below. (G.R., p. 280b).
Raja Ramnarain
77
Narain, Shafique 9 of Aurangabad, Husain Quli Khan Ishq 10
and Wazir Ali, Ibrati 11 of Azimabad, that the father of Raja Ram
Narain was Rangalal and that he was a Srivastav Kayastha and a
Diwan in the service of Nawab Aliwardi, Mahabat Jang the Nazim
of Bengal. The first three state that Diwan Ranglal was distin-
guished for his bravery and generosity, 12 ” was, in fact, “incom-
parable and unequalled in these and other virtues, 13 ” that “he
played a prominent part in the country of Bihar and its neighbour-
hood ,” 14 “that” he enjoyed power and prestige in the Sarkar of
Mahabat Jang and that he sacrificed his life for his master in the
battle fought against Sarfaraz Khan .” 15 Thus, though we may
regret the silence of the contemporary historians about such an im-
portant fact as Ranglal’s office and position, yet in view of Aliwardi’s
association with Bihar as its deputy Governor for about half a dozen
years , 10 his expedition, shortly after his assumption of office, against
9 Gul-i-Rana (O.P.L. Ms. 234-701) is also a biographical dictionary of
Persian poets with extracts from their work, commenced, by Lachmi Narain,
Shafiq of Aurangabad in 1181/1767 and completed in 1180/1768. Besides being
the author of a large number of books, Shafiq like the other members of his family,
served the Nizam of Hyderabad for a long time and was thoroughly acquainted
with the political situation elsewhere. He says about Srivastav Kayasthas that the
writers of this community — generally filled up the offices of the kings and nobles of
India (p. 273a G.R .).
10 Nashtar-i-Ishq. (O.P.L. Ms. 242-717). Perhaps the fullest and the most
extensive of the biographical dictionaries of ancient and modern poets, compiled
between 1224-1809 and 1233-1818 by Husain Quli Khan, Ishq, of Patna. Only
the Index of names of both the volumes of this monumental work coven 30 pages.
11 Riy ad-ul- A fkar. (O.P.L., Ms. 1783), a book of epistolary specimens (with
brief notices) of their writers, including Raja Ram Narain Mauzun, and compiled
by Wazir ‘Ali, Ibrati, of Patna, who was a well known figure in the literary circle
of the early 19th century in Bihar.” A manuscript copy of his work, “Jame-i-
Jahan Numa, a history in Persian of British domination frofn their advent to the
defeat of Sher Singh of the Punjab, and belonging to Madrassa Sulaimania, Patna
City, is just before the writer of these lines. The copy is dated 1272/1855.
12 S.K., 21b; G.R . , 180b. 13 S.K., 216b.
14 Bilgrami, quoted in G.R . , 280b.
15 G.R . , 280b; T. N. I. p. 1713a; S.K., 21b.
16 M.N . , 140; 27b; Waqi at-i-Mahabat Jang (Patna College Ms.).
Raja Ramnarain
78
the refractory Zamindars of. Bhojpore and Shahabad, 17 a district so
full of Srivastava Kayasthas and reputed to be the home of Raja
Ram Narain, 18 his attempt to restore and re-organize the govern-
ment with the help of the Hindus whom he favoured so much, 19
and lastly the admitted financial and administrative abilities 20 of the
Kayasthas, we have little or no reason to doubt the authenticity of
several contemporary works of literary criticism, specially when they
are practically unanimous on the point.
There is no such unanimity, however, in regard to the home
and birth-place of the Raja. We have already referred to the
solitary evidence in favour of village Kishunpur of Sassaram Per-
gana. This is practically supported by a very reliable authority
named Brindaban Dass, Khushgo of Mathura who died at
Patna in 1170/1756 and was indebted to and intimate with, Raja
Ram Narain. 21 He writes in his work that “the Sarkar of
Sassaram was the Watan-i-qadim or the original home of
“Mauzun.” “Ibrati, a writer of the early 19th century, gives an
altogether different version when he says that Mauzun was born
in one of the villages in the suburbs of Patna 22 .” A much more
vague and perplexing information is supplied by Lachhmi
Narain, Shafiq, who is closely followed by Husain Quli Khan,
Ishq. We are told that Raja Ram Narain was one of the in-
habitants of Mag or Magha, among the dependencies or environs
(Tawabe) of the Subah of Azimabad. 23 Magha presents a difficulty
as the term is sometimes applied to the whole of South Bihar,
especially Patna and Gaya. However, in view of the family tradi-
tion as represented by “Raja Durga Prasad and supported by
17 M.N., 15b. 16a; the date given is 1146-47 A.H.
18 DM., (Preface); SK., 216b.
19 R. Orme’s Hindostan , vol. II, p. 53; Mill, III, p. 172.
20 G.R. , 273a vide footnote above. 21 S.K., 216b vide footnote above.
22 (Ms* O. P. L.) p. 104b. 23 G.R., 280b, T. N. /. 1713a.
Raja Ramnarain
79
Khushgo’s evidence one cannot help to come to the tentative
conclusion that the ancestral home of Raja Ram Narain was in the
district of Shahabad but the family had migrated to Patna and
settled down in its suburbs. In fact the remains of his family re-
sidence are still pointed out by his representatives in Ranipore ki
khirki, beyond the railway line south of Mahalla Mughalpura of
Patna City, which is still in their possession.
A more obscure point than those of parentage and accestral
home is the birth date or the age of the Raja. There are certain
facts, however, which may help us in ascertaining his probable age.
The author of the Seyar writes that the Raja, “had been bred and
brought up from his very youth in Aliwardi’s family This is
confirmed by the Raja himself, as is evident from numerous expres-
sions in his own letters . 25 A further corroboration is available in
24 S.M., 593 (Persian text).
25 Such as “your hereditary slave”, “one bred and instructed by your excel-
lency and the martyr Nawab”, “the child of your slave, I swear by the cherishing
I owe,” “the fostering shadow of his excellency and the martyr Nawab.
Dastur-ul-Insba (pp. 214b, 212a, 161a, 210a, 200b etc.). This very valuable
manuscript contains a large collection of disarranged private and official lettets,
sanads, short orders and news letters, mostly written by or addressed to Mahaiaja
Ram Narain and other contemporary personages, regarding the transactions in
Bihar and Bengal, and occasionally throwing light on historical events elsewhere.
Safdar Jang’s expedition to Bihar, 1742-43 (pp. 271^2722) is the subject of pro-
bably the earliest letter in the collection and the latest event recorded in the body
of the book appears to be that connected with Ram Narain’s replacement by Raj
Ballabh as deputy governor of Bihar in 1174/1761 (169a, b). The bulk of the book
is devoted to the affairs concerning the regime of, the celebrated Naib Nazim of
Bihar, 1752-61. Munshi Bijay Singh, son of Kesari Singh of Lucknow whb com-
piled the work with the assistance of his son Lckhraj, says that he was a companion
of Rai Mansa Ram, the Foujdar of Tirhut, (a cousin of Rai Basant Ram, the son-m
law of Raja Rant Narain— S.M., 708, D.I., 328a) “whose overthrow by Mir Quasim
in 1175/1761 led to the dispersal of all the old letters and documents.” Some of
these were collected in 1183/1769 when Syed Wali-ullah Khan was the Foujdar of
Tirhut, by Qazi Shaikh Salabat Ali for “the elementary education of his sons and
brothers” (315^3163). The copy is dated 1201/1786-87 and belongs to the (rather
ruined) library of Maharaja Ram Narain, now in possession of his representative,
Rai Mathura Prashad, of Maharajghat, Patna city.
8 o
Raja Ramnarain
the copy of a Parwana of Aliwardi, Mahabat Jang, appointing the
Raja, Naib of Bihar, at the beginning of 1752. 26 Now, Aliwardi
had no connection with Bihar before his appointment as its deputy
governor in 1145/1732, according to Karam Ali 27 or in the 15th
year of Muhammad Shah’s reign, that is 1145-46 which is the date
suggested by Yusuf Ali. 28 Even if we accept as a fact rather the
vague and undated reference in the Diwan to the Raja’s visit to
Murshidabad, there is no evidence at all of his coming into contact
with or entering the service of Aliwardi during the latter’s stay in
Orissa (1132/1719 — 1140/1727) 29 or in the period of his Faujdari
of Akbarnagar (1140/1727 — 1 Two letters of the
Raja definitely tell us that he began his life as a ‘Moharrir’ or writer
on Rs. 5/- 31 which, considering the family status and the position
of his father, must have been at a very early age and just as a sort
of apprenticeship to fit him for more responsible jobs which, as we
shall see, he was soon favoured with. That his talents and good
fortune enabled him to rise almost beyond his age to the important
position of the Diwan of the province of Bihar may be conceded.
Lala Khushgo, who completed his valuable work sometime between
1748 and 1752, 32 makes very significant remarks: — “He ( Mauzun )
26 You refuge of eminence and dignity who have been brought up by me in
place of a son and are the strength of my arms”. Dastur-ul-lnshd 21a.
27 M.N., 14a.
28 A.A., 64; Stewart’s date 1729-30 is decidedly wrong. History of Bengal ,
P 42 °‘
29 M.N., 9b.
30 Ibid., 12b. The author of Seyar is wrong in mentioning Zainuddin (Mirza
Mohd. Hashim) as Foujdar of Akbarnagar or Rajmahal (S.M.* p. 4472) for Yusuf
‘Ali, ( A.A. y 4), Mohammad ‘Ali (T.M., 214), Ghulam Husain ( Reyadus saldtirt ,
p. 194) Saiimullah (Gladwin’s Translation, 77) Scott. (Deccan, 314) are unanimous
that Aliwardi was given that post by Shuja‘uddln.
. 31 Dastur: 172a, 209b.
32 This is to be inferred from Khushgo’s mention of Haibat Jang as the
“Martyr Nawab” and of his patron, Raja Ram Narain, as a “Diwan of the Subedar
of Azimabad”. This Subedar was obviously Raja Janki Ram a Bengali, who was
appointed as such on the murder of Haibat Jang in 1748 with Raja Ram Narain
Raja Ramnarain
8 1
ts a young man endowed with excellent qualities, both external and
internal. Very courteous and kind, he is ever a faithful and sym-
pathetic friend. He always shuns the company of the wicked and
the vicious one of his good qualities is the appreciation
of verses and the patronage of poets. Straightforwardness is his
another virtue. He has been distinguished for sometime by holding
the post of the Diwan of the Subedar of Azimabad ,‘ !3 ”
According to the complier of his Diwan, the “Raja
was married in his Shabab or “bloom of youth” to the
daughter of Ray-i-Rayan, the Diwan of Sultan-i-Hind, at whose
recommendation he repaired to Murshidabad and succeeded in
obtaining within a short time his appointment as the Naib-Nazim
of Bihar . 34 “There are obvious flaws in this statement. In the
first place, the bare mention of Ray-i-Rayan, rather a common title
of the Chief financiers, cannot help us in establishing the identity
of the Raja’s father-in-law. Secondly, there is the sudden
promotion to Naibship and a certain confusion which ignores the
necessary links. Thirdly, there is no mention of the position and
the services of the father which must have prepared the way, to a
great extent, for the son’s exaltation as is evident from such state-
ments of Husain Quh Khan and Wazir All, Ibrati as: (a) He
became a recipient of the Nawab’s favour in recognition of the
services of his father ”, 35 (b) Mauzun’s claim for his fathers office
as his Peshkar or Diwan till his death at the beginning of 1752. The compiler
of the catalogue of O.P.L., Patna, has blindly followed Rieu in giving wrong dates
fot the completion of Khushgo’s work between 1147/ 1734 and 1155/ 1742. This
may be the date of the first two parts of Safinae Khushgo, which, according to
Arzus’ Majama-un-nafaes, completed in 1164/1750, (see p. 112a, b) was dedicated
to Nawab Amir Khan, Anjam of Allahabad (murdered 1159/1746 SM„ 858) but
the rare Patna Manuscript which forms the third part and contains a short account
of Mauzun must be assigned to a much later date, specially because of the personal
note struck therein regarding the author’s relation with Raja Ram Narain, the Diwan
of Patna.
33 S.K., p. 116. 34 D-M, (Preface). 35 TNI - l 7 * 3 *
MARCH, 1938
It
82
Raja Ramnarain
was based on the services of the latter”. 36 Moreover, Ram
Narain’s own capacity and attainments and Aliwardi’s natural
leanings cannot be ignored altogether. But the time of the
marriage and the position of the father-in-law are certainly two
valuable points that emerge out of the quotations.
Now there are numerous references and several letters address-
ed to Rai Basant Ram of Lucknow, who had married the only issue 37
of Raja Ram Narain, named Maina Bibi, but none of these take us
back earlier than the year 1758. In fact, the sudden appearance and
ceremonial receptions of Basant Ram and the characteristic greet-
ings of the respective fathers-in-law in the 5th year of the accession, 33
that is, 1758-59 naturally lead us to presume the performance of
the marriage about that very year. Ordinarily 14 is the marriage-
36 RA.y 10^.
37 DM . . Exhibits nos. 545, 546, 547, of the Historical Exhibition held at
Patna in December, 1930.
38 Dastur : 70a to 86b. We learn from the letters that Rai Basant Ram set off
from Lucknow, leaving Rai Gulab Rai (presumably his father) there, on the 5th
Rabi I, year 5th of accession, and after paying his obeisance to the great Persian
Poet, Hazin, at Benares, as recommended by Raja Ram Narain (77a) he proceeded
to Patna, where, on his arrival on Wednesday, the 4th Rabi II, year 5th, he was
made to put on his Jorah or the marriage suit (79a). The mention of Muklavd
ceremony (bringing home a wife for the first time) and of the escort provided by
the father-in-law (73b, 79a), of the passionate yearnings after seeing the beloved
ones soon (80a, 83a etc.) and the attitude of helplessness shown by the bride’s
father in the matter of Rukhsati tell their own tales. Again references to the “thick
air and the cloudy sky” and “want of ease and tranquility of mind” (81 b) and to
the “unsettled state of the Subah” and “the constant anxiety about money”
even though His Excellency had bestowed on the writer a pearl necklace
before his departure” (75b) are very significant about the time and the
occasion. A letter dated 8th Shaban year 5th refers to performance of the inevi-
table ceremonies connected with marriage in Baisakh “and reminds the writer of
the promise to send back the light of the eyes” (Basant Ram) and also incidentally
mentions that His Excellency had left the city for Murshidabad but was yet en-
camped at Baikunthpore (almost 8 miles from Patna) and had not granted him
leave to depart (79b-8oa), Another letter dated 13th ziqa‘d year 5th informs us
that the writer lay at a distance of 70 kos from the city and was engaged in fight-
ing and capturing the forts of Bihsun Singh, the Zamindar (of Seres Kutumba).
Raja Ramnarain
8 3
able age of girls in this part of the country and if the daughter is
the first born, then the age of the father may be reasonably fixed
between 35 and 40. The fact that Basant Ram’s influence with
Raja Beni Bahadur of Oudh is referred to as salutary to the govern-
ment of Bihar and that he was recommended for the title of Raja
to Mir Jafar 30 show that this was not a case of early marriage. 40
In fact, Raja Ram Narain, when Khusgo wrote his work and spoke
about him as a Diwan, may have been somewhere between 29 or
33 and 34 or 38, and, therefore, his admiring biographer was not
unjustified in describing him as a young man. Taking everything
into consideration we may not be far from the truth if we take the
year 1714 or 1719 or thereabout as the probable date of Raja Ram
Narain’s birth. At any rate, we have reasons to presume that the
Raja was within his teens when he first came into touch with Ali-
wardi and his nephew and could be therefore bred and brought up
by them. There is no doubt that the unfortunate Raja met his
watery grave in 1763 when he was not yet fifty. 11
Now wc know that Nawab Mir Jafar hacl his last interview with Raja Ram Narain
at Barh about 34 miles east of Patna, on the 30th May 1738 (Broome, p. 200) and
that soon after the departure of the Nawab, the Naib of Patna had marched out to
punish the refractory Bishun Singh of Seres Kutumba ( S.M. } 637). These things
as well as die mention in the succeeding letters of the commotions caused by the
Shahzada in Bihar leave little doubt about the date of the Muklava or the
Rukhsati ceremony of marriage.
39 Dastur: 108b, 109a.
40 Ibid. : 103b, nob. Even if we allow the first preliminaries of marriage to
have taken place on a much earlier occasion, the final ceremony or the consumma-
tion of marriage cannot but be dated about the year 1738-39.
41 The Raja was drowned to death by Mir Qasim in 1177/1763 ( S.M . 734).
Thus, we may summarize the results as follows: —
(A) 1 71 9- 1 724 probable birth date
(B) The evidence of youth : —
Circa 1734 — First contact with Aliwardi’s family (S.M., Dastur): _ Probable age
Began life as a clerk of Rs. 5/- under Aliwardi (Dastur) 15-20.
„ 1740-1748 Khasnavis and Peshkar of Haibat Jang (S.M., Dastur) 21-29 or
26-34
n 1748-1752 “A ybungman” liable to go astray (S. K) 26-34
84
Raja Ramnarain
Like most of the Kayasthas of the time, Raja Ram Narain
appears to have received his education mainly through the medium
of Persian which was the official language of the day and a sure
passport for securing posts under the Government and elsewhere.
Raja Durga Prashad says : — ‘ ‘On attaining the age of discretion he
(Raja Ram Narain) acquired knowledge of Persian and Arabic and
accounts and gained great proficiency in writing both verse and
prose.” We are further told that he derived much benefit from
and became a pupil of Shaikh Ali, Hazin of Isfahan . 42 The Raja’s
Also “the Diwan of the Subedar of Azimabad” (S.K.,
DA.) 29-33 or
34 ' 3 8
1752-1761 Naib Nazim of Bihar Subah
33-42 or
38-47
1763 Death
1 7 19- 1 724 probable birth date
44-49
Evidence of own marriage : —
Married in the “bloom of youth” (Diwan) —
probably when about
25 years old.
Birth of the first and the only daughter
do 27 years old.
(D) Evidence of daughter s marriage : —
1758 — Daughter, probably aged 14, when first taken to his home by her hus-
band. Father was probably 41 years old at the time. This gives 1717 as the
year of the Raja’s birth.
42 The Raja’s Diwan or collection of poems is full of beautiful lines often com-
bining the pen names of both the pupil and his great poetical guide, Maulana
Shaikh Mohammad Ali, Hazin, 1692-1766, a name to conjure with in the history
of Persian literature, fled from Persia into Hindustan to avoid the persecution of
Nadir Shah in 1146/1733. His valuable memoirs, written in 1741, and translated
and published in English by Balfour in 1830 contain an interesting account of hi 5
travels and throw much light on contemporary historical events but naturally make
no mention of Benares or Azimabad nor of Ram Narain and his other Indian pupils
(Tazkcra-i-Hazin, Kujhwa Ms.). Khushgo, however, writes in his work, completed
before 1753, that Raja Ram Narain Mauzun, submitted his verses to Hazin from
whom he got his pen name. 7 azkirai-Shcara of Durga Das, completed in 1761
(O.P.L. Ms. p. 189) contains the important words “Hazin lived for some time at
Azimabad whose ruler Ram Narain, is his pupil. As the climate of the place did
ntit suit him, he left it for Benares. He is highly esteemed, admired and honoured
by all, including kings and nobles.” Hazin’s visit to Patna has been noticed by
numerous other contemporary writers but the date and duration of stay are nowhere
to be Found, Even a modem Urdu biographer who had access to the state library
of the Maharaja of Benares fails us. His statement is that Hazin incurred the
Raja Ramnarain
S 5
association with, and his indebetedness to, Hazin' 3 has been noticed
by almost all contemporary biographers. We learn from one of
displeasure of the Delhi poets (at the time of Nadir’s invasion) and he left that place
after a stay of three years and some months is probably incorrect when we are told
by a contemporary scholar and an intimate friend and admirer of the poet named
Azad Bilgrami that the great Persian left for the east (Benares and Azimabad)
after having lived at Delhi and its neighbourhood for about 14 years of his life in
India (Sarva-Azad). This gives (1147 and 14) 1161/1748 as the date of Hazin’s
advent in Benares. But more definite and first-hand information are available in the
copies of the letters written by Hazin himself which we find in Dastur (22oa-235b,
276b-28ib; 289b). One letter says that Hazin was present in Haveli near Idgah in
Patna City in the 6th Zilhijja year 5th of the accession, i.e. 15th November 1752
(180b) and another undated letter also speaks of his arrival at Patna (284b). The
poet writes one of his letters from Azimabad (222b) and in another, apparently sent
from Benares in 1753, September, (for the Civil War of Delhi and the Jats’ struggle
and his retirement to Faridabad arc alluded to) he says that being sick of his 20 year’s
stay in this land he wished to sail for his native country (Persia) from the port of
Hugh and on the way he proposed to stay for 2 days at Azimabad to see the
addressee (230b). The poet adds that though till then he had given trouble to
none, he felt compelled to request the addressee to arrange for boats on hire which
might take him straight upto Hugh and to write to Fakhrut-tujjar (Khawja Wajid)
to allot him a berth in the vessel bound for Basra. We may infer from them
another visit of Hazin to Patna at the end of 1753, specially because the well-
informed author of the Seyar tells us that the illustrious man came several times
to Azimabad on his way to his own country of Iran, and always found himself
opposed by fate” (S.M., II, 177 Eg. tr.). In another characteristic letter the poet
speaks of his having spent 19 years in this country (India) and of “the trying 10
months 2 years before in this very place (Benares). The letter was presumably sent to
Raja Ram Narain, some time in the beginning of 1752, in response to his invitation
to come to Patna for we read how the writer realised the difficulties of the summer
and specially of the approaching rainy season” (289^291 a). This gives us a clue to
the date of the first arrival of Hazin at Benares (1733 + 19 — 2) which may have been
1750 though it does not accord with the version of Azad given above. As regards
Hazin’s stay at Patna on the occasion of his first and second arrival it must have
been short. Tradition says that the sight of die Ganges on the north and the Jalla
water on the south of the city reminded the poet of the Mathura flood (noticed by
him in his Tazkira) and consequently he left Patna for Benares where he resided
till his death at the age of 77 in 1180/1766. The accomplished poet was honoured
alike by Hindus, Muslims and Christian inhabitants. His letter in die Dastur may
yield more interesting materials when closely examined. Many of them have got
a certain political importance for they show the subtle ways of securing diplomatic
ends through non-political channels,
43 G.R. 250b; S.K., 1 16; NJ., S.M . , M.N. , T.M. etc.
86
Raja Ramnarain
them that he was already the author of a Diwan 11 when the re-
nowned Persian poet paid a visit to Patna, probably in 1752, and
that it was Hazin who gave him his very appropriate poetical pen-
name of “Mauzun” 10 or well-measured. It is better to reserve
for a later occasion a critical examination and a comparative study
of the literary productions of Raja Mauzun. We may only refer
here to the Diwan and the Maktubat or the collections of
poems and letters which serve as a standing testimony to the
scholastic attainments and the eminent position in the sphere of
literature held by “the most sagacious of the sons of Ranglal.”
“The ruler of the kingdom of poesy,” “a glance at whose work
proves his lofty imagination and erudite and polished scholarship”. 17
We shall consider later the appreciative but critical remarks of. such
standard writers as Nawab All Ibrahim Khan, Khushgo, Ishq and
others but we cannot resist the temptation of referring to the great
Urdu poet and biogropher, Mir Hasan, ls Debi Prashad and others
who have not only described Raja Ram Narain Mauzun as a poet
of Persian but also of Hindi and Rekhta (Urdu) and have quoted
some of his Urdu verses. Literary pursuits, however, formed only
the side issue of Raja Ram Narain’s life. Let us consider his
political career which is of prime impoitancc.
II
According to Ghulam Husain, the Patna historian, Raja Ram
Narain’s father 19 was responsible for the commencement of his
official career as the private secretary or accountant of Nawab
Zainuddin, Haibat Jang, the Nazim of Bihar, since the very begin-
ning of his administration (in 1740). Perhaps this was the first
44 G.R.j 250. 45 Dastur 280. Vide ante.
46 G.R., S.K . , T.N., TS . , D.M., etc. 4 7 R.A., 194a.
48 Tazkira4-Mtr Hasan , Aurangabad, text p. 172.
49 S.M.> 593. The English translator has omitted to mention this fact
p. 1 17, II.
Raja Ramnarain
87
important post which the Raja obtained just after the death of his
father at Gheria. We do not know anything about the intermediate
seeps between the clerkship of Rs. 5/- and the Peshkari of the Bihar
Governor, both referred to in several letters. 50 But that he was
much more attached to the account office than to the Nawab as his
private secretary is borne out not only by the evidence of Ghulam
Hussian that he was appointed Peshkar of the Diwan, ’ 1 but also by
the fact that instead of accompanying Haibat Jang to Bengal in 1742,
he was left at Patna with the historian’s father, Syed Hedayat Ali
Khan, who acted as the deputy governor of Bihar for a period of
8 months, 1742- 1743. 52
This is the time when Safdar Jang, the Nawab of Oudh, was
sent by Emperor Muhammad Shah, to relieve the Viceroy of
Bengal of Marhatta pressure. A letter of Raja Ram Narain,'™
addressed obviously to Haibat Jang, just after Safdar Jang had
left Bihar, in January 1743, practically corroborates Ghulam
Hussian’s’ 4 version of the incident in respect of the mediation of
Murid Khm, the Imperial Agent at Patna, the terror felt by the
people of Bihar on account of the rapacity of the ferocious soldiery of
Oudh, Safdar Jang’s pompus entry into Patna after clearing the
castle and occupying the Nawab s Haveli and his misappropriation
of Patna elephants and cannon, etc. We also get an additional in-
formation that Raja Ram Narain was all along present in the city
but had already secured his safety through Shaik Abdullah
m whose garden at Mithapur the Oudh Nawab had encamped.
The letter says further that though the Patna populace were panic-
stricken for full 10 days “no one suffered any harm,” and that
50 Dastur : “Your slave was no better than a Moharrir (or a clerk) of Rs. 5/- ’
(172a) “My humble self is the same Moharrir of Rs. 5/-” (209b).
51 S.M., 593.
52 Ibid., 516, 520, 526. Hedayat Ali left Azimabad on the 15th Rajab 1 15^
i.e. Aug. 1743.
53 Dastur: ’ 2718-272^
54 S.M., 520-522.
88
Raja Ramnarain
Hedayat Ali Khan had taken his residence in the Haveli of
Chintamani Das. There is a veiled’’’ attempt to shield the Naib for
surrendering the fort into the hands of the intruder and an emphatic
contradiction of his own reported flight from the city. We may
agree with Raja Ram Narain that “Patna was threatened with a
great peril but fortunately escaped it’’ (in Dec. 1742) for Safdar
Jang had t 0 hasten to his own province to save it from
Balaji Baji Rao.
We do not find any mention in the letter of the march of
Balaji Baji Rao through south Bihar into Bengal, (Feb. 1743), the
sack of Daudnagar, and the escape of Patna from the Marhatta
incursion owing to the influence of Govind Naik, a Benares Marhatta
merchant and a friend of Hedayat Ali Khan. There is also no
reference to the return of Haibat Jang, the feverish anxiety with
which he constructed walls, dug moats and adopted other defensive
measures against another Marhatta menace which did not materialize
cn this occasion. We read elsewhere’’’ that the Nawab crossed the
Ganges and sojourned with his wife and children for more than a
year, in the Sarkar of Tirhut, which consequently showed a marked
improvement in revenue and population. We do not know if his
secretary or accountant was with him during his stay in Tirhut.
Haibat Jang was not destined, however, to enjoy the fruits of his
labour and good work, for he was soon called back across the river
to Patna to prevent its forcible occupation by the redoubtable
Mustafa Khan. We cannot but admire the boldness with which
he rejected the advice of his uncle, Aliwardi, to leave for Murshida-
bad by another route so as to avoid Mustafa Khan and made up his
55 “The keys of the fort passed into the hands of the Nawab’s men without
being delivered”. My humble self was all along present and still remains in the
City” (Dastur, 272a, 272b). Karam Ali and Mohammad Ali, however, charge
Hedayat Ali with having sought an alliance with Safdar Jang (M.N. 58b) and given
him an access Co the fort of Azimabad” (T.M. 216b).
56 S.M. 527, 528.
Raja Ramnarain
89
mind, instead, to fight down the valiant Afghan. 57 He got valu-
able help from his allies and official subordinates, including Raja
Ram Narain.
On the occasion of the two-fold assaults on Patna by Mustafa
Khan, in Safar 1158 (March, 1745) Raja Ram Narain was one of
those persons of note who were commanded to raise forces and re-
cruit the best armed and best accoutred horsemen”. 58 We find his
name “fourth in the list of six commanders, each put in charge of the
several brigades composing the Nawab’s army, and placed at the
foot of the entrenchment or rampart which they had to watch day
and night. ”° J Despite his first reverse near the garden of Jafar Khan
owing to the spirited stand of Haibat Jang, his father Haji Ahmed
and others and his own abandonment of his elephants, the wounded
but intrepid Afghan appeared again after a week on Friday, the
25th Safar, 1158 (March 1745). 1)0 After shaking and shattering
the enemies army he, made straight towards the Nawab
who valiantly held his ground but was thrown into a criti-
cal situation. Fortunately, as we are informed by Karam All, Raja
Kirat Chand and Raja Ram Narain hastened with an effective
artillery 01 and this checked the furious onset of the raging lion, who,
having suffered another grievous wound, again turned back. He
was chased as far as Zamania, near Ghazipore, 02 specially because
57 S.M., 534-535; M.N., 620. 58 Ibid., 535.
59. Ibid., 53 6. The six commanders were: — ‘Abdul Ali Khan (the historian’s
maternal uncle), Ahmad Khan, Quraishi of Daudnagar, Gaya, Raja Kirat Chand, son
of Ray-i-Rayan Alamchand, and then the Diwan of the Patna Nazim, Raja Ram
Narain, Khadim Hussian Khan of Purnea fame and Nasir Ali Khan.
60 M.N., 64a. We get a very ditailed account in Seyar, 540-542.
61 M.N. P 65a. Their bold and resolute action on this occasion was perhaps
meant to retrieve their lost prestige, for according to Seyar, (p. 540) partly supported
by Muzuffarnama (64b), Raja Kirat Chand, Raja Ram Narain, Zulfiqar Khan Mewati
and others had been put to flight in the very first charge by the Afghan invader.
62 A A., Aliwardi wanted to penetrate into the territory of the Oudh Nawab
as a retaliation for the latter’s misbehaviour at Patna three years back, but the
Bangarh campaign of the Emperor stood in his way.
MARCH, 1938
12
9 °
Raja Ramnarain
Aliwardi had arrived in the meanwhile and joined his victorious
nephew in the pursuit. After an interval of about 3 or 4 months
Bengal witnessed another incursion of the Bargis at the invitation of
Mustafa Khan, which necessitated the hasty departure of the Nawab
of Bengal towards Murshidabad. The vanquished Mustafa Khan
had, in the meanwhile, gathered a large army of the Rohillas, re-
inforced by the turbulent Rajputs of Bhojpur, headed by Babu
Udwant Singh, the ancestor of Kunwar Singh of the Sepoy Mutiny
fame. 03 The bold Nawab bearded the lions in their own den and the
battle of Jagdishpur on 20th June 1745 in the district of Sahabad re-
corded another triumph over x the rebels. Mustafa Khan, Baber Jang,
was killed after performing prodigies of valour and with his death
ended the first great attempt at the revival of the lost Afghan power
in Bihar under the later Mughals.
It was followed, 3 years later, by another under the leadership
of Shamsher Khan, Sardar Khan and other discontented and dis-
missed officers of Aliwardi s army. The vindictive spirit of revenge
for the blood of Raushan Khan 01 Tarahi and Mustafa Khan, the
treasonable intrigues of Ataullah Khan, 0 " the Afghan lust for power
in the province of Bihar, and, above all, Haibat Jang’s eagerness to
63 Calcutta Review } 1870, p. 120.
64 A A., 558. This Afghan had been treacherously murdered at die instance
of Haibat Jang for interceding on behalf of the Rajput zamindars of Bhojpur and
Shahabad. See also W.M. , M.N. etc.
65 S.M.y 565. M.N . , 70b; W.M . — Ataullah Khan, a sister’s son of Nawab
Shuja‘uddin of Bengal, and a nephew-in-law of Aliwardi, had been invested with
the Government of Akbafnagar, Rajmahal and promoted to the rank of six
thousand. He incurred the displeasure of Aliwardi by conspiring against him with
the famous Mir Jafar. On being banished, he entered into the service of Safdar Jang
of Oudh and was killed along with Nawal Rai in the battle of Khudaganj in 1750.
According to Yusuf Ali he had instigated Sham Slier Khan and Sardar Khan against
Haibat Jang which resulted in the tragic murder of the latter. For a detailed account
See Seyar and Ahwal-i-Aliwardi by Yusuf Ali, pp. 9, 11, 21, 35, 45, 61, 62, 65, 69,
77, 85, 86, 98, 114-117.
66 S.M., 558; W.M., 72b.
Raja Ramnarain
9 l
enlist the Darbhanga Afghan in his service to strengthen himself
against his future rivals, 66 all these combined to produce the revolu-
tion which resulted in the assassination of the confiding Nawab in
his own palace of 40 pillars on 23rd Moharrum 1161^ 15th January
1 748. 67 When the whole palace had been denuded by Nawab’s
order of all men, to disarm the suspicion of the service-seeking but
faithless Afghans, we find Raja Ram Narain, “the Diwan’, ( S.M. ,
593) being present along with other penmen in the Munsbikhdna or
account office and as they were rather taken unwares and were with-
out arms, they were stripped to the skin and suffered to depart,
some wounded and some not. 6 ’' Only Murlidhar made the best of
a bad bargain by taking care to decamp with the casket of jewels
belonging to the Nawab. 69
The Afghan rule of violence and extortion over Patna and the
adjoining places was brought to a speedy end after 3 months " by
the old but still spirited Nawab of Bengal, thanks to the gold poured
at his feet by the prince of bankers of Bengal and the unstinted sup-
port given by his Hindu subjects at the time of his dire calamity.' 1
No wonder, then, that after the battle of Barh and the restoration of
peace and order everywhere, the grateful and experienced Nawab
disregarded the importunate claims of his nearest relations, and
67 S.M., 560. The palace of forty pillars was built by Haibat Jang (S.M., 649).
68 Ibid., 559-560- 69 Shaad’s History of Bibar (Urdu).
70 Sarkar’s Bthar and Orissa etc., p. 88. 13th Jan. to 16th April, 1 7 4 ^’
71 S.M., 564. The non-Afghan elements also stood by the old Nawab. But
die loyalty of the Hindus is of special significance for they might have joined hands
with their co-religionists, the Marhattas, who were present in large numbers in
Bihar as nominal allies of the Afghans, and thus taken advantage of the dissensions
of the Mussulmans to promote their own interests.
72 S.M., 571-572- Saulat Jang, the second nephew and son-in-law of Aliwardi,
who put him in charge of Patna when he marched out to punish the zamindar
of Bettiah in 1748, was fully confident of being confirmed in the vacant Nizamat.
The government of Purneah which he got, instead, was but a poor substitute. Orme
is not correct in hinting that Mir Jafar was also a possible candidate for Bihar in
9 2
Raja Ramnarain
appointed his own Bengali Diwan, Raja Janki Ram, to act as the
deputy governor of Bihar, on behalf of his beloved grandson,
Sirajuddaula, the son of the murdered Nawab. As regards the
Dewani of the Bihar Subah, it appears to have already fallen vacant
on the departure of Raja Kirat Chand for Benares in association with
the banished Ataulla Khan in 1160/ 1747. 73 Raja Ram Narain
writes in one of his letters 74 that he acted as the Peshkar of the
“Martyr Nawab (Haibat Jang) and of Maharaja Janki Ram. A
leliable authority 70 speaks of Raja Ram Narain as a “Diwan of
Haibat Jang’’ and we know definitely that he acted as the Diwan of
Janki Ram during the latter’s Naib Subadari of Bihar.' 6 We have
no proof of any appointment of Janki Ram in Bihar after the depar-
ture of Aliwardi from Bengal in 1740. According to Seyar he was
specially sent for in the year 1748 in order to be invested with the
Khilat of Niabat ( S.M . ). Thus we are forced to the conclusion that
Raja Ram Narain was mainly responsible for the financial depart-
ment of the Bihar Subah, during the last days of Haibat Jang, and
1748 and that the Nawab would not trust the Government of such an important
and frontier province to him but gave it to a gentoo, “Ram Narain”. ( lndostan ),
11 53 >
73 S.M . , 592-596. Kirat Chand was the son of Ray- i- Raya n Alamchand. A
man with a sound knowledge of Persian and an expert in financial matters, he was
taken by Haibat Jang from Bengal to Patna in 1743 and appears to have served
under him as a Diwan till 1746-47. Thereafter he attached himself to Ataullah Khan
and lived for some time at Benares. He was recalled by Aliwardi in 1750, did
him good service as a successor of Birudatta and afterwards recovered more than a
crore of lost money from the Seths and the zamindars of Burdwan and died in
about 1753 (S.M., 592, Dastur, 286 a.b.). The Dastur contains some letters addressed
by Raja Kirat Chand to Raja Ram Narain, including one, dated as late as Jamadi,
II, of the 6th year of accession, i.e. April or May 1753 (Dastur, 283a — 287b).
74. Dastur: 200b.
75 Dastur-ul Amal, Mushta-mil-bar-Dastur-i-PadsHMian, — a miscellaneous
collection containing statistical accounts of Indian Subahs and other valuable in-
formation and belonging to Babu Chotu Lall, Harmandil Lane, Patna City. The
copy, is dated 1274/1835 A.D.
7 6 SM,, 593, Dastur, 200b.
Raja Ramnarain
93
his loyalty and good services were recognied by his confirmation as
Diwan under Janki Ram.
Very good relations appear to have existed between the Bengali
deputy governor and his Bihari Diwan. Despite difference in age
and experience, each was indebted to, and felt admiration for, the
other. Raja Ram Narain frequently refers to the experience lie
gained under, and the training he received from, Raja Janki Ram,' 7
and there is no doubt that the latter owed much of the success of
his regime to the local knowledge and influence of the former. The
five years’ rule of Raja Janki Ram was characterized by good and
efficient administration 78 and wise and clever handling of the affairs
of Delhi and Murshidabad. Attempts were made to suppress the
refractory Zemindars and check political disorders. Revenue was
not only realised but also regularly remitted to the Delhi court after
meeting the expenses of the provincial Government and keeping
something for emergency. 79 The Jagirdars of the Imperial court
were specially kept pleased by the regular remittance of their res-
pective dues from their estate in Bihar, so much so, that they recom-
mended and secured for Janki Ram the rank of 400 Zat and 3000
horse and the title of Maharaja. 8 " Indeed, he eminently deserved
77 Dastur, 270a. 7® M.N., 80a; Dastur, 21a,
79 Dastur, 172 we read of “4 lacs surplus.”
80 Dastur, 126. According to Karam Ali a rank of 6000 was conferred upon
him. (M.N., 80b.).
81 JASB., 1885, p. 164. Raja Janki Ram was die son of Rajballabh who at
one time served as Kanungo under the Muslim Governor of Orissa. He must have
attracted the notice of Aliwardi during the latter’s stay in Orissa between 1132/1719
and 1140/1727 (M.N., 8a-i2b) and continued to rise in his favour with the corres-
ponding rise in the fortunes of the Nawab till he was appointed the latter’s Diwan.
This is in a way, supported by the Patna historian. According to him Janki Ram who
was the qld Diwan of the house of Aliwardi was appointed (after the battle of Gheria,
1740) Diwan of Muster and other registers (S.M., 495). He rendered valuable services
to his master and became a minister of the highest trust and credit specially after
the part that he played in the treacherous murder of Bhaskar Pandit in the plains
of Mankara, March, 1744 (S.M., 529). No wonder then that he was specially sent
94
Raja Ramnarain
all such elevations. We know that Todar Mai’s settlement of the
territorial divisions and revenue of 1582, which had been revised by
Aurangzeb in 1685, was superseded in 1750 by fresh settlement
made under the order of his master, Aliwardi, by Maharaja Janki
Ram. 81 He must have carried out the details with the help of Raja
Ram Narain whose “ability and knowledge of accounts” and “tact
in managing other transactions” has been testified to by the author
of the Seyar.
Incidental references in the letters show the part played by
Raja Ram Narain and the identity of interests existing between the
two. We may, for example, cite the Parwanas and letters suggest-
ing that Raja Ram Narain had been performing certain work or
everything since the time of Raja Janki Ram. We 83 shall also refer
to a reply to a Parwana, addressed directly to Raja Ram Narain, in
which the writer assures Aliwardi that the petitions and despatches
from the Maharaja (Janki Ram) were really those of himself, “the
well-wishing, hereditary slave” but “as he had been ordered to write
separately, he would do so whenever necessary.” 81 One such neces-
sity appears to have been provided by the inspired but futile attempt
of Sirajuddaula in 1750 to seize real power for himself by removing
his Deputy, Janki Ram, from Bihar. Raja Ram Narain submitted
a report 85 of the incident which corroborates apd amplifies the ver-
sion of the contemporary historian Ghulam Husain. This was the
most critical moment in the life of the Deputy and his Diwan but
was got over by tactful management. The old Nawab came to Patna
and effected a reconciliation between the parties concerned 80 and left
again for his capital with his favourite grandson, Siraj, leaving the
£01 from Bengal and appointed deputy governor of Bihar Subah in 1748 ( S.M. , 572).
He was invested with a tide and a Mansab by the Emperor (Dastur, 126a.).
83 Dastur, 197a — 200b. 84 Ibid., 215a.
85 Ibid., 213a to 215a. S.M., 585-588.
86 Dastur, die famous letter of Aliwardi to his beloved but errant grandson, re-
ferred to, in Seyar on p. 585 is found in full in Dastflr, 212-213.
Raja Ramnarain
95
existing arrangements intact in the hands of Raja Janki Ram who
continued to govern Bihar efficiently for less than two years, dying
at the beginning of 1751.
The fact that the services of the Bihari Diwan were indispen-
sable to the Bengali Naib Nazim, which made the future of the
former well assured is borne out by the information supplied by
Karam Ali 8 ' that even before his death Raja Janki Ram had handed
over the government of the country to his Pesbkar or Diwan. In
fact ‘ he had sent a petition to the Nawab to the effect that as he
had found his sons unfit and unworthy for the responsible work he
had, therefore, entrusted that into the hands of Raja Ram Narain.
His Excellency also approved of the arrangement.” It reflects great
credit upon the Bengali Naib Subadar for he had the sense of justice
and recognition of true merits to prefer the well-deserved claims of a
Bihari to those of all of his four sons, including one, namely,
Durlabh Ram, who had already been invested with the rank of 3000
horse and appointed temporarily a deputy governor of Orissa in
1 749 ,S8 an d another, Ras Bihari, 8 ” who was actually present in Bihar
till after his father’s death. His choice was fully justified by the
subsequent events, for, whilst Ins ablest son, though at one time
the first minister of Bengal, proved himself to be only a priest ridden
sluggard and a cowardly intriguer””” and a betrayer of his de jure
master, Raja Ram Narain, showed his ability by his active and effi-
cient administration and his fidelity by his constant submissiveness
to Aliwardi and his sincere attachment to his grandson and succes-
sor. Indeed, Aliwardi’s policy was fully vindicated by the
subsequent events in Bihar.
(To be continued ).
S. H. Askari
87 M.N., 89b. 88 S.M., 534.
89 Dastur, 170b. This Ras Bihari was sent to Purneah by Serajuddaula ill 1756,
with a letter to his cousin, Shaukat Jang, to take the delivery of the Foujdari of
Gondwarah and Bimagair which belonged to the Nizamat of Bengal. This set ablaze
the fire of enmity between the two cousins (S.M., 627). 90 S.M., 5 46.
Vamadeva the Saiva Saint
While reviewing Dr. H. C. Ray’s Dynastic History of
Northern India (vols. I & II) published by the Calcutta Univer-
sity, in Journ. Ind. Hist., XV, pp. 269-71, I suggested that
Vamadeva, mentioned in the inscriptions of the Kalacuris and later
Candellas, was probably a Saiva saint. In connection with my study
of the Kakatiya records, I have noticed a reference which satis-
factorily solves the problem. In the present note, I propose to
elucidate the point that was enunciated in the review just referred to.
From A.D. 1042, the date of the Benares grant of Kalacuri
Laksmi-Karna, onwards, several Kalacuri and later Candella kings
refer to themselves as paramabhattdraka-mabdrajddbirdja-parames-
vara-sri-vamadeva-padanudbyata , and sometimes Vamadeva is given
the additional epithet, paramamabesvara ( Dynastic History,
II, pp. 775ff.; 789; 793ft. ; 797ft.) I have elsewhere suggested
that the passage pad-anudhyata should be translated as “favoured
(or, blessed) by the noble (or, by the feet of) ”* So, in the
Kalacuri and later Candella records, the kings are described as bless-
ed or favoured by Vamadeva who was a Parama-bhattaraka,
Maharaj-adhiraja, Param-esvara and also a Parama-mahesvara.
That this Vamadeva was a Saiva saint is proved beyond doubt
by the Malakapuram stone inscription of the Saka year 1183 (A.D.
1261-62) 1 2 of the time of Kakatiya Rudradeva (i.e., Rudramba,
1258-96 A.D.). The record gives a very interesting account of a
Saiva monastery called Sri-Gomulaki-matha (or Golaki-matha) in
the Dahala-mandala, between the Bhagirathi and the Narmada.
1 “Meaning of the word Anudhyata” in Journ. Andhra Hist. Res. Soc., X,
p. 229.
2 Ibid. a IV, p. 15 2&; Kakdtlya-samcikd (Telugu), Inscription No. 3L
Vamadeva, the Saiva Saint
97
The monastery was established by a Saiva saint named Sadbhava-
sapibhu. He received an estate comprising three lacs of villages
from Kalacuri Yuvarajadeva, who appears to be Yuvaraja I
who reigned in the second half of the tenth century A.D. and is
known to have favoured the Saivas.' 1
The successor of Sadbhava-sambhu was Soma-sambhu who
composed the Soma-sambhu-paddhati, a work on agama* Soma-
sambhu’ s successor was Vama-sambhu who must have flourished
about the middle of the eleventh century. Vama-sambhu was thus
a contemporary of the Kalacuri king Laksmi-Karna (1041-70
A.D.) and possibly also of his father Gangeyadeva (1030-41).
Laksmi-Karna was probably a disciple of Vama-sambhu = Vama-
3 Dynastic History , II, p. 762 ff. The Chandrehe (Bhandarkar’s List,
No. 1221) and Gurgi (No. 1873) recor ds prove that the Saiva ascetic Prabhavasiva of
the Mattamayura sect, who was “greatly honoured by Yuvarajadeva”, was brought
to the Dahala country by Yuvaraja, son of Mugdhatunga. Prabhavasiva was “made
to accept a monastery.” The Mattamayura teachers mentioned in the Kalacuri re-
cords are Purandara, his disciple Sikhasiva, his disciple Prabhavasiva, his disciple
Prasantasiva, his disciple Prabodhasiva. Purandara was possibly also called Matta-
mayuranatha (Nos. 1577, 1872); he is mentioned with a king named Avantivarman
who resided at Mattamayura. Saiva ascetics mentioned with him are Kadamba-
guhavasin, Sankhamathikadhipati, Tcrambipala, Amardakatirthanatha, Kavacasiva,
Sadasiva, Hrdayesa and Vyomasiva; but it is not impossible that the first four names
are actually surnames of Purandara. According to the Mahabharata (II, 32, 4-3) the
Rohitaka country beloved by Karttikeya and inhabited by the Mattamayuraka
chiefs was conquered by Nakula in connection with his dig-vijaya in the western
region; the country was also conquered by Kama {ibid.. Ill, 253, 20).
According to the Bilhari inscription, Nohala, the queen of Yuvaraja I, built a
temple of Siva which she endowed with seven villages. She is also said to have
given two villages to the Saiva teacher Isvarasiva, disciple of Sabdasiva who was the
disciple of Pavanasiva. The common name-ending Siva appears to suggest that these
teachers also belonged to the Mattamayura sect. Vamasambhu and his ' teachers,
whose names end in sambhu, probably belonged to a different sect. This sugges-
tion is however not quite beyond doubt, as the names of some later spiritual des-
cendants of Vamasambhu sometimes have - siva for - sambhu .
4 It is interesting to note that a verse from Somasambhu’s work has been
quoted by Madhava in the Saiva-darsana section (v. 26) of his Sarva-darsana-
samgraba.
MARCH, 1938
*3
Vamadeva, the Saiva Saint
98
deva, and this fact would explain why he is called vdmddeva-pdd-
anudhyata in inscriptions. It must however be noted that refer-
ence to Vamadeva is also found in much later records, e.g., in the
Rewa grant of V.1297 = A.D. 1240 of the time of Candella Trai-
lokyavarman who reigned in the first half of the thirteenth cen-
tury. 5 6 This difficulty is however solved by the Malakapuram re-
cord of Saka 1 183 = A.D. 1261-62 which describes Vama-sambhu
as:
atha nrpa-sekhara-mdld-ldlita-paclo — tra vamasambhur — abhut,
ady = dpi Kalacur-Ysd yac-caran-drddhakdh prasasyante.
Vama-sambhu s feet are here said to have been embellished by the
garlands on the heads of kings and it is also said that “even now
(ady — dpi, i.e., in 1261-62 A.D.) the Kalacuri kings are prospering
ing his feet.” There can therefore be no doubt that
Vamadeva of the Kalacuri and Candella records is the same as
Vama-sambhu of the Malakapuram record.*’ In connection with
5 Dynastic History s p. 724 ff.; Bhandarkar’s List, No. 53 °* The reference to
Vamadeva in the above Rewa grant of Kaurava Kumarapala, feudatoiy of
Trailokyavarman, may possibly be explained by the fact that the grant actually
belongs to the feudatory Kaurava dynasty of Karakaredi, which was previously sub-
ordinate to the Kalacuris. Kumarapala’s grandfather Sallaksana is known to have
been feudatory of Kalacuri Vijayasimha (c. 1180-97). A Rewa grant of A.D. 1 174-75
shows that Sallaksana’s brother Kirtivarman was feudatory to the Kalacuri king
Jayasimha. See Bhandarkar’s List, Nos. 432,530, 533,1144, etc. It is interesting in
this connection to note that, in the above record of Kumarapala (No. 530), Trai-
lckyavarman has also been called Trikalihgddhipati which is a peculiarly Kalacuri
title. This fact appears to show that the Kauravas of Karkaredi sometimes used
the titles of their old masters with the names of their new suzerains. Bhandarkars
suggestion that “the adoption of this Kalacuri title probably indicates his (i.e.
Trailokyavarman^) occupation of the Kalacuri dominions” is not convincing, be-
cause the occupation of the whole or major part of the Kaiacuri kingdom by Trai-
lokyavarman is improbable. In this connection it may also be pointed out that the
date of No. 533 of Vikrama 129 [8?] should possibly be read as 1296.
6 Prof. H. C. Raychaudhuri suggests to me that the designation Vamadeva
might have been continued by the apostolic successors of the first great teacher of
that name in the same way as the appellations Sahkardcdrya and Ndnak were conth
Vamadeva, the Saiva Saint
99
such mention of a king as anudhyata by a religious teacher, it is
interesting to note that in the Nirpan and Nausari grants (Bomb.
Gaz., I, ii, pp. 352, 358^ 361, 364) Calukya Vikramaditya I is
described as anudhyata by the noble (or by the feet of) agavar-
dhana who is supposed to have been a religious teacher.
Vamadeva was no doubt a Parama-mahesvara, “a devout wor-
shipper of Mahesvara (Siva) . But why should a Saiva ascetic be
mentioned in the Kalacun and Candella records as Parama-bhatta-
raka, Maharajadhiraja and Paramesvara?
The word bhattaraka means “revered, worshipful’’, etc. That
saints and religious teachers were called Bhattaraka is proved by a
number of inscriptions. A Navamuni cave inscription (Bhandar-
kar’s List, No. 1573) mentions Bhattaraka Kulacandra who was an.
acdrya of the Desi-gana sprung from the Graha-kula belonging to
the Arya-samgha. In the inscriptions of the Rattas of Saundatti we
have one Mulla-Bhattaraka who was a teacher in. the Kareya sect of
Mailapatirtha. 1 ' Vamadeva’s epithet Parama-bhattaraka may be ex-
plained by the fact that sometimes religious teachers are known to
have prefixed the word parama to their titles. The Veraval inscrip-
tion of Caulukya-Vaghela Arjunadeva (Bhandarkar’s List, No. 565)
describes the Saiva teacher Gandasri-Paravirabhadra as a Parama-
pasupat-acarya. It should further be noticed that when the dis-
ciple (the king) who is far inferior in position to his preceptor is
called Parama-bhattaraka, his preceptor cannot properly be called
simply Bhattaraka.
The above suggestion also holds good with Vamadeva’s epithet
Maharajadhiraja. Heads of monasteries are generally called Maha-
nued by the spiritual successors of the great exponent of Advaitism and the
illustrious founder of the Sikh sect. Mr. }. Ramayya Pantulu who edited the
Malakapuram record also suggested that Vamasambhu may be the same as
Vamadeva of the Kalacuri records.
6 Bombay Gazetter > I, ii, p. 552.
IOO
Vamadeva, the Saiva Saint
raja (Mahan ta-maharaja) all over Northern India. This custom
seems to have its origin in the fact that the word Maharaja, accord-
ing to Sanskrit lexicons, means “a deified Jain Teacher” (Hema-
candra), “a respectful mode of addressing kings or other personages
(my lord, your majesty, your highness)”, etc., and according to
Hindi lexicons a meaning of the term is “a form of address used to
a Brahmana or a superior.” It must also be noticed that a Matha-
dhipati, “lord of a Matha or monastery” is also the lord of the
villages granted by kings in favour of that monastery. Vamadeva
was virtually a Maharaja to the inhabitants of the villages granted
by Kalacuri Yuvarajadeva in favour of his predecessor Sadbhava-
sambhu. His epithet Maharajadhiraja is evidently due to the fact
that it was not considered proper to give him an epithet less grand
than that of his disciple the king. A Maharajadhiraja had to bow
down his head to a Monk-Maharaja; but since the disciple could
not claim superiority over his guru, the gum had to be given an
epithet as grand as his own . 8
The word Vsvara may mean ‘‘a lord, master”, ‘‘a rich or great
man”, etc. Vamadeva was lord of the Gomulaki-matha, with all its
belongings, and also of the saints residing there. Moreover, a guru
is no less than God ( Vsvara , paramesvara ) to his disciples. It was
therefore proper that Vamadeva was not denied the epithet Parame-
svara, specially when his royal disciples used that title.
Dines Chandra Sircar
• 8 Prof. Raychaudhuri thinks that as there is no early instance of the appli-
j cation of the tilde Maharajadhiraja to a purely spiritual functionary, the use of
( such an epithet in reference to Vamadeva may point to the fact that the de facto
[ secular rulers referred to in the paper considered themselves as mere lieutenants of
I the supreme Saiva Pontiff or Priest king of the region in the same way as certain
^Rajput and South Indian princes regard thcmcelves as deputies of Eklingji and
| Padmanabhasvamin. It however seems to me possible to get early instances of a
monk being called Maharaja .
Some Folk Goddesses of Ancient and Mediaeval India*
An interesting account is given of the Raksasi Jara in the
man tr ana or rdjasiiydrambha parvadbyaya of the Sabhdparvan of
the Mahabharata. She, according to the story narrated there, was
instrumental in bringing to life the dead and discarded child of
Brhadratha, the king of Magadha. The two queens of Brhad-
ratha gave birth to two halves of one male child, which were
thrown by the maid-servants outside the palace near a catuspatba.
I he Raksasi Jara, who belonged to Rajagrha and its environs and
who used to feed on blood and flesh, happening to come by
that way put the two halves of the child together and thus brought
it back to life. Though she used to feed on children, she thought
of restoring this particular child to its parents; assuming the shape
of a beautiful female figure she approached Brhadratha and handed
it over to him and his queens who had come outside their palaces
on hearing the vigorous cries of the revived child. When the
grateful king to whom she appeared as a divine being asked her who
she was, she answered him thus : —
Jara ndmdsmi bhadram te raksasi kdmarupinij
Tava vesmani rajendra pujitd nyavasam sukham/ /
Grhe grhe manusyanam nityam tisthami raksasi / j
Grhadeviti ndmnd vai purd srstd svayambhuva/ /
Danavanam vindsdya sthapitd divyariipin't J
Yo mam bbaktyd likbet kudye saputrdm yauvandnvitdm,/ /
Grhe tasya bbaved vrddhir anyatbd ksayam apnuydt/
Tvadgrbe tistbamanaham pdjitabam sadd vibbo//
Likhitd caiva kudyesu putrair bahubbir avrtd/
Gandhapuspais tathd d hit pair bhaksyabhojyaih supujitd/ /
Sdham pratyupakdrdrtham cintaydmy anisarn tava I j
* Read in the Ninth All-India Oriental Conference at Trivandrum,
i Mahabharata, Calcutta Edition, Sabhaparva, ch. 18, vs. 1-6.
io2 Some Folk Goddesses of Ancient and Mediaeval India
.. • The above couplets can be freely translated thus: —
‘I am raksasi Jara by name and can assume different shapes at
fny will. I live happily in your house and I am worshipped there.
I was created of yore by Svayambhu and my name is Grhadevi;
1 was established with a divine shape for the destruction of the
demons. Whoever draws my youthful figure with my children on
the walls of his house, plenty reigns there; he who does not do so
scarcity afflicts him. My figure, accompanied by those of my many
children is painted on the walls of your palace and is well worshipped
with various offerings ( upacaras ) such as sweet-smelling flowers, in-
cense and eatables. I am always mindful of doing good to you in
return’ ’ .
Certain interesting features of this account of Jara can be
analysed thus : — She was a raksasi and worshipped by the people
ol Rajagrha for plenty and prosperity; particular emphasis is laid
on the mode of worshipping her which consisted of the practice of
painting or carving her figure along with the figures of her children
on house walls and offering her flowers, incense and various eatables.
There can be no doubt that we recognise in her a divinity who had
already endeared herself to the people of Rajagrha and even had
come to enjoy some status in the household of no less an august
personage than the king of Magadha himself.
If we place the account of the Yaksini Hariti of the Buddhist
texts by the side of the above account of Jara we cannot but be
struck with the great similarity as regards origin, character, as well
as the method of worship of these two folk goddesses. Myths con-
nected with Hariti and similar types of secondary divinities are to
be found in various kinds of Buddhist literature like the Mahavastu,
the Vinayapitaka of the Sarvastivada school, the Samyukta-ratna-
siitra of the Chinese Sutra-pitaka. The Dhammapada com-
mentary while commenting on verse I, 4, (Hatred is not
conquered by hatred etc.) of the Dhammapada narrates a story
Some Folk Goddesses of Ancient and Mediaeval India 103
which gives an account of Yakkhini Kali which is reminiscent of
Hariti. Ksemendra, in his Bodbisattvavadana-kalpalata supplies
us with a similar account of the latter. The Mabavastu tells us
about a Raksini, Kundala by name, who used to live in the sub-
montane region of the Himalayas ( anubimavantapradese ) and who
died after giving birth to 1000 children. These, after their
mother’s death, went to Vaisali in search of food and began to
feed upon its children. 2 The Vaisalians sought the aid of the well-
known religious men of the time like Purana Kasyapa, Maskari
Gosala, Ajita Kesakambalin, Sanjaya Velatthiputta, Nigantha
Nataputta (jnatiputra) and Kakudha Kaccayana, in order to get rid
of this visitation. But when all of them failed to relieve Vaisali ot
these calamities, the people were advised to seek the help of Buddha
and on Buddha’s visiting Vaisali, these grabas disappeared (cf.
Cbatravastu section of the Mabavastu). It is to be noticed here that
Yaksini Kundala plays the least important part in this story and
all the misdeeds are laid at the door of her children. The story of
this Yaksini has no direct association with the narrative of Jara re-
counted above. But a similar story of an ogress which occurs in the
Vinayapitaka of the Sarvastivada school (mainly preserved to us in
its Chinese translation) has clear affinities with the account of the
Mababharata goddess. Here Yaksini Hu-anh-si meaning ‘joy’
(perhaps based on such Sanskritic name as Nanda or Nandini —
Watters) was the tutelary deity of the people of Magadha and re-
sided at Rajagrha. On account of an unholy wish expressed by her
in one of her previous existences she indulged in the practice of
robbing the people of Rajagrha of their children and feeding her-
self and her 500 sons on them. On account of her heinous practice,
2 They were in the nature of grahas or disease demons; cf. the disease demon
attendants of Skanda, the same grahas , an elaborate account of whom is given in the
Vanaparvan, ch. 249 of the Mababharata; these impish attendants of Skanda took
delight in troubling the children of mankind.
104 Folk Goddesses of Ancient and Mediaeval India
the Rajagrha people gave her the name of Hariti, and they resorted
to Buddha for the preservation of their children from her clutches.
Buddha taught her a lesson by concealing the youngest of her 500
sons and when she enquired from the Master as to the means of
subsistence of herself and her children, he ordained that in all monas-
teries and in the houses of all right minded people, her figure and
the figures of her children are to be carved or painted and eatables
should be offered to them. We cannot trace the history of Jara in
the Brahmanical narrative in later texts, but the cult of Harti, its
probable Buddhist counterpart had a long history of its own both in
India and outside India. We learn from the Si-yu-ki of Hiuan
Thsang, how her cult was acclimatised in ancient Gandhara (the
Chinese traveller refers to the Hariti Stupa said to have been erected
by Asoka and which was located by Foucher at Sare-Makhe-dberi
in the Peshwar district) and how her worship migrated outside
India to eastern China (through Chinese Turkestan and Kashmir),
Korea and Japan, though in a somewhat transformed character.
In China, the deity Kwan-yin, Avalokitesvara in female aspect
absorbed this Indian goddess while in Japan she came to possess
both the form of saint and ogress, holding the child, where she is
worshipped under the name of Koyasu Kwan-non as saint, and
Kishi-mo-jin as an ogress.' 1 The popularity of this cult in the ex-
treme north of India is fully vouchsafed by the discovery of numer-
ous sculptures in the various archaeological sites excavated there; she
is sometimes depicted singly along with her children while at other
times accompanied by her consort Kuvera, the Yaksaraja (sometimes
described as Pancika, the general of the Yaksa king) as well as her
playing children.
Side by side with the folk divinities mentioned above is to be
placed the goddess Jyestha once mainly worshipped in southern
3 Getty, Gods of Northern Buddhism, p. 76.
Some Folk Goddesses of Ancient and Mediaeval India 105
India. The wide prevalence of her worship at one time in the
south is proved by T. A. G. Rao. One of the Alvars (Tamil
Vaisnavite saints), Tondaradippodi (Sans. Bhaktahghrirenu), by
name complains in his songs about the foolishness of the people
paying their homage to such goddesses of lowly origin for happi-
ness and prosperity, when they could easily obtain the fulfilment of
their desires and supreme bliss by praying to Lord Visnu. To a
devout Visnu-bhakta this mental attitude of the general mass of
the people could certainly appear as extremely erratic in character.
But, it is none the less true, undeveloped human mind is very
much prone to believe in the practical utility of such worship; the
force behind this belief is at the same time so strong that the higher
section of the people, cannot but succumb to it at times. It is no
wonder then that we find an entire chapter devoted to the consi-
deration of this goddess-cult in the Bodhayana Grhyasutra' where
elaborate instructions are laid down for the worship of this divinity
who is variously described as Jyestha, Kapila-patni, Kumbhi,
Kumbhini, Jyaya, Hasti-mukha, Vighna-parsada, Nirriti, as having
lions attached to her chariot and tigers following her {yasyassimha
rathe yukta vyaghrascapyanugaminahy A very interesting account
also noticed by 1 . A. G. Rao is given about the origin of Jyestha
and her deification in the Lihga Parana. During the churning of
the ocean by the devas and the asuras, poison first came out of it
and then this inauspicious Jyestha. She was married to a rsi named
Dussaha who soon found out that she was loath to hear the praises
of and prayers to the gods Visnu and Siva and was averse to en-
courage a good deed. The poor Brahmin in his distress consulted
Markandeya who advised him to humour his wife’s inclinations and
to take her to such places where all sorts of evil and inauspicious
things are being done (the shrines where Bauddha and non-Vedic
4 Bvdhayana Grhyasutra, ed. by Shama Sastri, pp. 294-96.
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938 14
io6 Some Folk Goddesses of Ancient and Mediaeval India
forms of worship are performed are among these places). The
Brahmin, however, freed himself from the company of his wife by a
ruse and advised her to sustain herself till his return, by the bali
(oblations) offered to her by good women. Dussaha, so runs the
story, never afterwards returned to his wife and ‘ever since that
time, this poor abandoned wife is said to have been wandering here
and there and making the hills and plains outside inhabited villages
her abode from time to time.’ Once asked by her how she would
pass her lonely days, Visnu advised her to visit those people who
were his exclusive worshippers and who did not pay homage to Siva
and other gods. Visnu muttered the Rudra-mantra to protect him-
self from the baneful influence of Jyestha also known as Alaksmi.
It is sometimes especially enjoined that Visnu-bhaktas and women
should offer her oblations.
This popular myth evidently concocted with a deep sectarian
bias unwittingly hints at the manner of the introduction of this
goddess-cult among the orthodox sectaries. The mode of her sus-
tenance as laid down by Dussaha is reminiscent of that of Jara and
Hariti mentioned above. Gopinath Rao tells us that the worship
of this goddess is practically obsolete now in southern India; and
it it is so, explanation can be found in the remarkable popularisa-
tion of the orthodox sectarian religious systems like Vaisnavism and
Saivism by the efforts of the Alvars and the Nayanmars. But it is
a curious fact that what ground Jyestha lost in her original home-
land, she gained under another form or name in eastern countries
of India like Bengal and Orissa and Western ones like Gujrat. We
do not fail to recognise her in a new form in Si tala, the goddess
presiding over small-pox and similar diseases, because the latter is
characterised by many of the features associated with the former.
Some of the different names given to Jyestha in the old Tamil
Nighantus are Mugadi, Tauvai, Kaladi, Mudevi, the crow-banner-
ed, the ass-rider, kettai, the bad woman and Ekaveni and her weapon
Some Folk Goddesses of Ancient and Mediaeval India 107
is said to be the sweeping broom. 5 6 7 The well known Pranama
mantra of Sitala in Bengal, viz. Namami Sitalam devim rasabhas-
tham digamvaram / ( Alarjanikalasopetam surpalankrtamastakam j j
contains a few notable characteristics of Jyestha. In the eastern
countries of India, the worship of Hariti mainly associated with
small-pox, was already well established and the presiding deity of
this disease absorbed many of the outstanding features of the south-
Indian Jyestha and perhaps then came to have the new designation
Sitala. At what time this absorption and actual transformation
took place, it is difficult to determine at present; but it may not be
wholly unreasonable to suppose that the change might have
owed its inception to the time of the Sena Kings of Bengal
who hailed from Karnataka and during whose period, the cult of
the south Indian Sadasiva was also introduced there. This inaus-
picious Jyestha may also be partially recognised in the ksanika
image of Alaksmi made of cowdung which is worshipped first in
the Dipanvita Laksmi puja night (Kali-puja night) and then taken
, outside the house with the beating of winnowing fans/
The Yaksas, raksasas, pretas, bhutas, etc., are those classes of
divinities, belief in whom is ingrained in the folk mind. The author
of the Bhagavadgita says that these are worshipped by the people
imbued with rajas and tamas gunas.' The Jaina literature refers to
5 T. A. G. Rao, ibid., part II, p. 395. In some South Indian and a few
North Indian Sanskrit texts, there is to be found a distinct attempt Vo omit many
of these outlandish details, almost none of which are mentioned therein. In them
she is mostly described as a fat, square, thick lipped goddess with large hanging
breasts (a characteristic feature of the raksasi Putana of Harivamsa and the Puranas,
and ink-like skin, holding a nilotpala and abhaya in her only hands. In a variant
reading of the Suprabhcdagama text we are told that she is ‘Kharariidba Kaleh
patm and in the Amsttmadbhedagama she is ‘ Kakadhvajasamayukta /
6 This ritual is very much in vogue in several districts of Bengal especially
W. Bengal. The Visnudharmottara particularly stresses the inauspicious character
of this divinity — Jyesthalaksmlriti sriye.
7 Bhagavadgita , ch. XVII, V, 4.
io8 Some Folk Goddesses of Ancient and Alediaeval India
eight different kinds of vyantara devatas, viz., Pisacas, Bhutas,
Yaksas, Raksasas, Kinnaras, Kimpurusas, Mahoragas and Gandhar-
vas. 8 The Pali Buddhist literature also speak of similar types of
semi-divine beings — divinities worshipped by the lowest order of
people. Jara, Jyestha, Hariri and others fall under this category of
devatas, (to which also belong Culakoka, Mahakoka, Canda and
others of the Barhut railings). One must take note of another inter-
esting trait marking the character of some of them. Several of these
undoubtedly had originally been personified diseases such as small-
pox and the like. We have seen that this is easily demonstrable in
the case of Hariri; in the case of Jyestha, this is clearly recognisable
in her particular form becoming current in some eastern and western
provinces of India. 9 In the case of Jara, it is presumable that we
find an implicit reference to this character when she describes her-
self as fond of blood and flesh and especially children’s flesh;- and,
in any case Jara means old age which is certainly a sort of disease. 1 "
The epic description of the origin of Skanda and his attendants,
the disease demons ( grahas ) is also to be considered in this connec-
tion. 11 The mythical stories concerning Skanda and his attendants
are extremely varied and confused in character. But what can be
drawn out of this tangled skein is a reference to the personification
and deification of many of these diseases which are called grahas.
The seven mothers of infants who are associated with Skanda are
Kaki, Halima, Malini, Vrmhila, Arya, Palala and Vemitra by name.
8 Cf. the Niddesa passage quoted by R. G. Bhandarkar in his Vaisnavism etc.
p. 3. Among the Vedic and sectarian gods arc mentioned such objects of worship
as Supannas, Yakkhas, Asuras, Gandhabbas, an elephant, a horse, a cow, a dog, a
crow etc.
9 For the worship of Sitala, the goddess presiding over small-pox, in Gujrat,
sec Bombay Gazetteer, vo\. IX, pp. 368-72.
10 Putana Raksasi in the myths connected with early life of Krsna as narrated
in the Harivamsa and the Puranas is as her name and characteristic features imply
a similar divinity, if not the same in a differeftt garb.
11 Mahabharata, Vana Parvu, ch. 217, i-'z.
Some Folk Goddesses of Ancient and Mediaeval India 109
Indra smiting Skanda with thunderbolt, numerous Kumaras and
Kumaris were born who steal and kill children of people. Markan-
deya says :
‘ Skanda farisadan ghoran srnusvadbbiitadarsanan /
Vajrapraharat Skandasya jagmus tatra kumarakah j /,
Ye haranti sisun jatan garbbasthams caiva darunanf
V ajraprabarat kanyasca jajnire-’sya mababalab / /' 2
Devasena, who became the consort of Skanda is given such
names as Sasthi, Sukhaprada, Laksmi, Sinivali, Kuhu and Apara-
jita. All these and many other interesting details given in this
chapter of the Alababbarata throw considerable light on the origin
of such divinities and there can be very little doubt as regards the
sameness of their character.
Jitendra Nath Banerjea.
12 Mbh., Vana Parva , ch. 28, V. 5c*
Doctrines of the Mahasanghika School of Buddhism
II*
(iv) Acquisition of moral purity is not mental (silam aceta-
sikan ti; silam na cittdnuparivatti ti). Kvu. X. 7. 8.
The Mahasahghikas imply by the above opinion of theirs that
purity in speech (samma vaca), actions (samma kammanto) and means
of livelihood (samma ajivo) is a corporeal property and as such is non-
mental and requires no arammana (basis).' 1 The M. mean that the
observance of silas transforms the bodily constituents of a being in
such a way that it can no longer commit any wrong, i.e. , cannot be
dussila.
(v) The collection of silas (merits) is not associated with
mind. (Cittavippayuttam silopacayam ). Kvu. X. 9.
Buddhaghosa explains this as due to misapprehension of the
sense of the passage in the Samyutta Nikaya (I. p. 33): aramaropa
vanaropa ye jana...tesam sada punnam pavaddhati (the merits of those
who plant park and woods increase at all times).
(vi) Maggasamahgissa rupam maggo ti.'* Kvu. X. 2.
(vn) Maggasamahgi dvihi silehi samannagato ti. 1 * Kvu.
X. 6.
A maggasamahgi is an advanced adept who has reached one of
of the maggas, i.e., sotapattimagga, etc., by following the eightfold
path, and is engaged in maggabhavana (higher meditations).
His mental states are transcendental (lokuttara). The question
is whether the sila practices 71 completed by him in the pre-sotapanna
* Continued from p. 580 of vt>L XIII.
71 Kvu. . 1 , p. 422. Cf. IHQ., XIII, p. 569, rc. Anusaya,
72 Transl. “That the physical frame of one who is practising the eightfold
path is included in that path.” Points of Controversy , p. 244.
73 Transl. “That one who is engaged in the path is practising a double
morality.” Ibid., p. 248. Vism., p. 6: Silena sotapanna-sakadagamibhavassa karanam
pakasitam hoti. Sotapanno hi silesu paripurakari ti vutto, tatha sakadagami.
74 See Dbammasahgani , p. 60.
Doctrines of the Mahasahgbika School of Buddhism hi
stage and still possessed by him should be regarded as lokuttara or
lokiya (belonging to the spheres of Kama, Rupa and Arupa)? The
M. contend that the rupa of a maggasamangi (or maggattha) remain
lokiya while his mental state (citta) become lokuttara, hence his
silas which belong to the category of rupa as shown above remains
lokiya. Of the eight factors of the atthangika-magga, three, viz.,
samma vaca, kammanta and ajiva of a sotapanna are silas and as such
they are lokiya but the remaining five which are mental (arupa) may
be lokuttara. A sotapanna therefore is in possession of lokiya silas
but if he practises sammasati, sammavayama, etc. he may be said to
have lokuttara-silas. The Th. do not make any such distinc-
tion, for, all the eilght silas, according to them, emanate from mind;' ’
so the silas of a sotapanna, who has lokuttara-citta, are lokuttara.
(viii) Acts of intimation are virtues (vinnatti silan ti).
Kvu. X. io.
(ix) Acts not intimating a moral purpose is immoral 70
(avinnatti dussilyan tij. Kvu. X. n.
Sila, according to the M., must be positive action and not mere
restraint (sanivara), so any vinnatti (intimation) by means of body or
speech is sila. Salutation, rising to welcome, folding hands, etc.,
are silas. The M., in view of their opinion that there may be
accumulation of demerits without the association of mind (cittavip-
payuttam apunnupacayam ), contend “that acts not intimating a
moral purpose are immoral.”
(x) Insight is dissociated from mind (nanam cittavip-
payuttam). Kvu. XI. 3.
(xi) One should not be called ‘nani’ (possessed of insight)
though his ahhana (spiritual ignorance) is gone when
his mind is dissociated from perception. (Annane
75 Cf. Vism p. 6: Kim silan ti? Cetana silam, cetasikam silam, sanwaro
silam, avitikkamo silan ti (quoted from Patisambhidamagga, I, p. 44).
76 See P. of C.y p. 252. For definition of Vinnnatti , see Attbas., pp. 83 ff.
1 12 Doctrines of the Mahasahghika School of Buddhism
vigate nanavippayutte citte vattamane na vattabbam
nam ti). Kvu. XI. 2.
In this controversy hana means magganana (insight belonging
to the adepts who are in one of the four maggas). The M. contend
that at the moment when an adept has cakkhuvinhana, etc., he can
not have magganana. In other words they mean to say that it is only
when an adept develops magganana and stops his sense perceptions
(vinnanas), he may be described as ‘nani’, hence nana is not associat-
ed with mind (citta = vinnana).
(xii) Akusalamulam patisandabati kusalamulan ti . 71 Kvu.
XIV. I.
The M. contend that as the same object may be the cause of
both raga (attachment) and viraga (detachment) and as one may
follow the other immediately, it may be stated that kusala is the
anantarapaccaya (contiguous cause) of akusala and vice versa. The
Th. point out that cultivation of kusalamula must be. made deli-
berately (yoniso manasikaroto) while that of akusalamula does not
require any such thinking (ayoniso manasikaroto), and also that
nekkbammasahha (renunciating thought) does not always follow
kamasahha (worldly thought) and vice versa, and so kusalamula can-
not be regarded generally as the contiguous cause of akusalamula and
vice versa™
(xiii) Paccayata vavatthita ti. (“One phenomenon can
be related to another in one way only”). Kvu. XV. 1.
The M. now enter into the problem of paccayas. There are
twenty-four kinds of paccayas, viz., hetu, arammana, adhipati, saha-
jata, anantara, etc . 70 They raise the question whether one object
77 “That a basis of bad thought is consecutive to a basis that is good, and
conversely.” P. of C., p. 282.
78 Of. Tikapatthana, pp. 168 ff.
79 See Atthas p. 9; Dukapatthana, p. 3; P. of C App., pp. 390-2; Buddhist
Psychology , pp. 194 ff.
Doctrines of the Alahasahghika School of Buddhism 113
can be placed under two or more kinds o£ paccayas of another
object, or a clear line of dstinction should be drawn between
any two paccayas, in other words, one can be related to another by
one relation only. The Th. hold that one object may be two kinds
of paccayas, e.g., viriya may be both adhipati and sahajata; vimamsa
may be both hetu and adhipati. The M. do not subscribe to this
view.
(xiv) Avijja paccaya pi samkhara, na vattabbam “sam-
khara paccaya pi avijja ti. 8n Kvu. XV. 2.
This view of the M. is only a corollary to the previous one.
The M. hold that avijja is the hetu (cause) of samkhara and as such
there cannot be any other relation between the two. The Th., how-
ever, argue that avijja and sanikhara are related to each other both as
hetu and sahajata (co-existent) or ahhamahha (reciprocal), hence it
may be stated that samkhara are sahajatapaccaya of avijja, and
vice versa .* 1 In the Vibhanga (pp. 156 ff.) the sampayutta (asso-
ciated) and ahnamanha (reciprocal) relations between any two con-
secutive links of the chain of causation are exhaustively dealt with,
showing clearly the attitude of the Theravadins to the problem.
This concludes all the opinions attributed to the Mahasanghikas
in the Kathavatthu but not referred to by Vasumitra. In the
Kathavatthu there are several other opinions attributed to the
Andhakas and the Uttarapathakas, the later sub-sects of the Maha-
sanghikas, but as many of these coincide with those of the Sarvastiva-
dins and the Sammitiyas, we propose to deal with them after the
exposition of the doctrines of these two schools in a subsequent issue
of this journal.
Nalinaksha Dutt
80 “That whereas actions are conditioned by ignorance, we may not say that
ignorance is conditioned by actions.” P. of C p. 294.
81 Cf. Majjhima Nikaya, I, p. 54-55: avijja samudaya asava asavasamudaya
avijja; also Digba Nikaya , II, p. 56-57; vihnanapaccaya namarupam, namarupa-
paccaya v’nhanan ti.
MARCH, 1938 1$
Doctrines of the Sarvastivada School of Buddhism
In the history of the secession of schools, Sarvastivadins are
found to be a branch of the orthodox group, the Theravadins, hence
there are many points of agreement between the Theravada and
Sarvastivada doctrines. The latter had its sphere of activity in
Northern India extending from Kashmir to Mathura and was res-
ponsible for the propagation of Hinayana Buddhism in Central Asia
whence it was carried to China. The Tripitaka of this school was
written in mixed Sanskrit. Its Abhidharma works are quite differ-
ent from those of the Theravadins, while its Vinaya text contains
many matters not to be found in the Pali Vinaya, but there is a
commonness in the topics of the Abhidhamma and the rules of the
Vinaya. So far as the doctrines of the two schools are concerned,
the principal point of difference is that the Sarvastivadins maintain
the existence of the khandhas in their abstract forms at all times,
whether in the past, present or future, while the Theravadins deny
any such existence. The former accept the fundamental creeds of
Buddhism, viz., anatta and anicca of things of the world, but their
contention is that the things constituted out of the khandhas at a
particular time are subject to disintegration but not the khandhas
themselves, which always exist in their abstract state. Vedana, for
instance, may be kusala, akusala or avyakata at a particular time and
place but the vedanakhandha exists at all times. 1
I. Do all exist ?
The Kathavatthu (I. 6) presents the arguments and counter
arguments of the Sarvastivadins and the Theravadins thus: Thg
Sarvastivadins maintain that all dharmas exist but not almp find
everywhere and in the same form. In reply to the questiqn ||h#thef
khandhas which are all different by nature exist iu|^ibine^|
See Points of Controversy > Appendix, pp. 375-7.
Doctrines of the Sarvastivada School of Buddhism 115
( ayogam ), they answer in the negative. This however, gives
an opportunity to the Theravadins to show the fallacy that if
all exist then both micchaditthi and sammaditthi exist together.
1 hen again by equating past and future to present, the Theravadins
show that if past and future exist then their existence should be
predicated in the same way as of the present , 2 3 which the S. deny,
saying that past and future exist but not exactly in the same way as
one would speak of the present.
The Th. take recourse to the second argument saying that let
the ‘present material aggregate’ ( paccuppanna-rupa ) be treated as
one unseparable object; now, after some time has elapsed, this mate-
rial aggregate becomes past, i.e., gives up its presentness (paccuppan -
nabhava ) to which the S. agree; then in the same way can it be said
that the material aggregate also gives up its materiality ( rupa-bhava )?
The S. deny the latter inference, reasoning thus, — let a piece of
‘white cloth’ be regarded as one unseparable object; now, when
this cloth is coloured, it gives up its whiteness (like ‘ paccuppanna-
bhava in the former case), but does it give up its clothness (like
‘rupabhava’ in the former case)? This disarms the opponents .The
Th. however follows up this argument of the S. by the suddhikanaya
saying that if the material aggregate (rupa) does not give up its
materiality (rupabhava),'' then rupa becomes parmanent, eternally
existing like nibbana — a conclusion not accepted by the S., as
according to the latter rupabhava is different from nibbanabhava.
The next question put by the Th. is whether past (atita) gives
up its pastness (atitabhava)} The S. answer in the negative, but
takes care to note that when they say that atitabhava exists they
mean that anagatabhava (futurity) and paccuppannabhava (present-
ness) do not exist like the atitabhava , and similarly when they pre-
2 This is repeated with each of the khandhas,
3 Cy. rupakkhandhena samgahitatta.
ii6 Doctrines of the Sarvastivada School of Buddhism
dicate existence of anagatabhava, they mean atitabhava and paccup-
pannabhjava do not exist like anagatabhava. This general statement
is then applied to each of the khandhas. The Th. round up the
discussion by their usual suddhikanaya saying that atita or atitabhava
then would be the same as nibbana or nibbanabhava a conclusion
rejected by the S. The Th. then take to the vacanasodhana saying
that (i) if the existence of past {atita) and non-past (nvatita) as also
future ( anagata ) and non-future {nvanagata) is denied then the S.
should not say that past and future exist; so also (ii) if they do not
accept the identity of atita, paccuppanna and anagata , 1 they cannot
say that atita and anagata exist.
The next argument of the Th. is that if the S. admit that
paccuppannahana (present cognition) exists and it has the function of
knowing things (paccuppannam nanam atthi, tena nanena nanakara-
niyam karoti) and then why not the atitanana and anagatanana, the
existence of which is affirmed by the S., should not have the function
of knowing things in analogy to that of paccuppannanana ? This
the Th. consider as illogical and rejects the contention of the S.”
that ‘atitam nanam atthi’ .
The Th. now takes up the cases of the Arhats, Anagamis, etc.,
and show that according to the S. who state atita raga exist in an
Arhat, that atita byapada exist in an Anagami and so forth, an Arhat
should be sarago, an Anagami should be byapannacitto and so on, but
this inference is not accepted by the S.
The last argument resorted to by the Th. is that if the existence
of atita, paccuppanna and anagata khandhas, dhatus, ayatanas be
admitted, then the S. should say that there are (3 x 5) or 15 khandhas,
4 By taking recourse to the discussion whether hutva hoti hutva hoti and na
hutva na hoti, na hutva na hoti, the Th. show logically the untenability of the
assertion of the S.
5 In the text, this argument is elaborated by the application of this general
statement to each of the sense-organs, (paras 23-28) as also to hattha, pabba, kaya,
apo, tejo and vayu (paras 47-49)
Doctrines of the Sarvastivada School of Buddhism ii 7
(3 x 18) or 34 dhatus, (3 x 12) or 36 ayatanas which the S. reject say-
ing that they may accept the position that atita or anagata exists from
one standpoint and does not exist from another standpoint (atthi siya
atitam or anagatam or siya nvatitam or nvanagatan ti). The Th.
then bring in their suddhikanaya by citing the instance of nibbana
and establishes the futility of the assertion of the S. that past and
future exist. Both the Th. and S. then quote passages from the Sutta
Pitaka in support of their own contentions, one however remaining
unconvinced by the other. From the controversies dealt with above
the following may be taken as the opinion of the S. :
1 The past and future, as usually understood, do not exist,
though they are perceptible in the present.'’ In the same sense, the
non-past and non-future should also be taken as non-existing.
2 It is the bhava of each of the five kbandhas and not the
khandhas persist in the past, present and future.
3 An object ( vastu ) may lose its pastness, presentness, or
futurity but not its objectness ( vastutva ) but that objectness is not
identical with nibbana or nibbanabhava.
4 An Arhat c.g., for instance, has atita raga but he is not
therefore to be regarded as “sarago”. 6 7
The S. admit impermanency ( anityata ) of the constituted things
but they contend that the “dharmas” (or bhavas) of the past are
transmitted into the present and likewise the “dharmas’ of the
future are latent in the present. This we may illustrate, by citing
the example of a sweet mango — the past mango seed transmits
into the present “mangoness” if not the “sweetness” and similarly
the “future mango” receives its “mangoness” from the present:
the mango seed can never produce any other fruit though there may
6 E.g. anagatam hutva paccuppannam hoti but anagata is not identical with
paccuppanna in the ordinary sense, though in paccuppanna there is (the dharma of)
anagata so in .that sense paccuppanna is anagata .
7 Cf. the Mahasahghika view re. armsaya.
1 1.8 Doctrines of the Sarvastivada School of Buddhism
be a change in the quality and shape and colour of the mango.
The S. speak of a being in the same way. According to them a
being is composed of five dharmas (not five khandhas), viz., (i) citta
(mind), (ii) caitasika (mental states), (lii) rupa (matter), (iv) visampra-
yuktasamskara (states independent of the mind)," and (v) asamskrtas
(the unconstituted). (i) * * * * * * * 9 The five dharmas (not elements as usually
8 In Vasumitra this appears also as a separate opinion of the S. : The pheno-
mena jati, jara, sthiti, anityata are cittavisamprayuktas but included in samskaras-
kandhas. One of there four items, viz., jara is discussed in the Kvu. (VII. 8) in
the topic “jaramaranam vipako ti?” an opinion of the Andhakas, the Kvu. support-
ing the opposite view that jaramaranam is not vipaka.
9 These five arc sub-divided into seventy-five thus: —
I. Rupa (ii) — (a) visaya (5)
(i) rupa
(ii) sabda
(iii) gandha
(iv) rasa
(v) sparsa
(b) indriya (5)
(i) caksurindriya
(ii) srotrendriya
(iii) ghranendriya
(iv) jihvendriya
(v) kayendriya
(c) avijnapti (1)
II. Citta (1)
III. Caitasikas (46) —
(a) Alahabhumtka (10) ( b ) Kusalamahabhumika (10)
(i) vedana
(ii) samjna
(iii) cetana
(iv) sparsa
(v) chanda
(vi) mati or prajna
(vii) smrti
(viii) manaskara
(ix) adhimoksa
(x) samadhi
(r) Klcsa-mahabhumika (6)
(i) moha
(ii) pramada
(iii) kausidya
(iv) airaddhya
(v) styana
(vi) auddhatya
(i) sraddha
(ii) virya
(iii) upeksa
(iv) hri
(v) apatrapya
(vi) alobha
(vii) advesa
(viii) ahimsa
(ix) prasrabdhi
(x) apramada
( d ) A kusala-mahabhu miktT (2)
(i) ahrikata
(ii) anapatrapya
Doctrines of the Sarvastivada School of Buddhism 119
understood) persist in a being, the present being the resultant of the
past, and potential of the future. An adept after becoming a sota-
fanna remains so in his following existence proving thereby that his
past dharma continues and the three samyojanas 10 remain ineffective.
It may be argued by the Th. that the three samyojanas have alto-
gether disappeared; the Sarvastivadins may cite the instance of the
Sakadagamin as a better illustration. A Sakadagamin reduces raga,
dosa and moha to the minimum, and in his following births that
(e) Upaklesa-bhUmtka (io) (/) Aniyata-bhumtka (8)
(i) krodha
(i) kaukrtya
(ii) mraksa
(ii) middha
(iii) matsarya
(iii) vitarka
(iv) irsya
(iv) vicara
(v) pradasa
(v) raga
(vi) vihimsa
(vi) pratigha
(vii) upanaha
(vii) mana
(viii) ■ maya
(ix) sathya
(x) mada
(viii) vicikitsa
IV. Citta-viprayukta (14) (i) prapti
(ii) aprapti
(iii) sabhagata
(iv) asamjnika
(v) asamjni-samapatti
(vi) nirodha-sarriapatti
(vii) jivita
(viii) jati
(ix) sthiti
(x) jara
(xi) anityata
(xii) namakaya
(xiii) padakaya
(xiv) vyanjana-kaya
V Asamskrtas (3) (i) aka£a
(ii) pratisamkhya-nirodha
(iii) apratisamkhya-nirodha.
See Rosenberg, Die frobleme der buddhistischen philosophic , pp. 128-9.
Rahula Sankrtyayana, Abhidharma-kasa , Table IIL
10 Viz., sakkayadittki, stlabbataparamasa, viciktcchl.
120 Doctrines of the Sarvastivada School of Buddhism
state continues, proving thereby the continuity of past dharmas.
Now we may pass on to the case of Arhats. The Arhats, it will be
seen, become completely free from raga, dosa and moha;
according to the Th. they are destroyed for ever but according to
the S., these raga, dosa and moha persist though in an ineffective
form and these may reappear and cause an Arhat fall from the
Arhathood — a topic discussed in the Kvu. (I. 2) and attributed by
Buddhaghosa to the S., viz., Pari hay att araha arahatta ti ?"
(To he continued ).
Nalinaksha Dutt
11 For its exposition, see the Doctrines of the Mahasanghikas, I HQ., XIII,
P 5 6 5-
Adverbs in -taram, -taram
From the time of the Rgveda an adverb is formed by means
of a suffix -taram attached to preverbs : vitaram and pratardm , —
which are further joined by the isolated forms avataram and parataram
in mandalas I and X. The use of this adverb is precise : it intensi-
fies the value of the preverb which it supports, and which is given
iii its pure form at its side, either before (prd tarn naya pratardm
X. 45. 9 “lead him ahead, further ahead”) or after (vitaram vi bhabi
VI. 1. 11 “glow at a distance, more at a distance ). The fact
has been briefly noticed by Delbriick, At. Syntax, p. 195; the rule
applies throughout to vitaram and avataram ; in parataram
jibitdm of mandala X (59, 1-4) the preverb is wanting: on account
of its heaviness the form parataram alone takes the place of the
excepted parataram para. : how can jibitam. alone mean “to cede
(Grassmann, Worterb., s.v.)? Finally for pratardm, both the types
pratardm .. .pra and prd... pratardm are equally well attested; the verse
X. 42.1 in which the verb (with prd) and the adverb pratardm
belong to two different clauses is due to an extension of the use
as is often resorted to by the authors of mandala X. Other exten-
sions have however also taken place : the common formula : pra
tdry ague pratardm na dyub IV. 12. 6; X 126. 8 has induced on
the one hand dyub pratardm dddhanab in mandalas I and X (and
even dyub pratardm, without the verb, II. 32. 1); on the other hand,
by successive semantic approximation, jivatave pratardm I. 94. 4,
pratardm dad batana V. 34- 1 and dadbanah I. 1 4 1 * * 3 > y e vdvrdbuh
pratardm X. 66. 1 and pratardm vdvrdbur ndrah V. 55. 3, and finally
pratardm didhyanah. X. 10. 1. We are quite favourably situated
here to be able to trace the gradual development and multiplication
in the Rgvedic vocabulary, which took place round the central idea
represented by dyub prd tar.
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938 *6
122
Adverbs in -taram, -tar am
Finally, the mandala X presents a case of -taram on an adverbial
stem: tena gacba parastaram 155. 3:. here too we are semanti-
cally very close to what would be given by a formula with preverb
para gaccha.
This adverbial formation is isolated: no neuter in -tdra- func-
tions as adverb in the RV., and moreover the use of a preverb as
the stem, as well as the oxytonous accentuation, would suffice to
distinguish the type prataram , from the adjectives like tavastara-
madintara- vidustara -, or like uttara-.
It appears that the type prataram was easily able to maintain
itself in post-Rgvedic Sanskrit, supported as it was by the mass of
adverbs in -am, and more particularly by the neuters in -taram, the
use of which was developed after the RV. : they are in fact rare
in the Vedic texts (asrutataram TS. II. 5. n. 1, pratyaktaram
AsvGs. I. 10. 17, nitatatamam KS. XII. 10: 172. 11 according to
Caland ZDMG. LXXII p. 14, uttaram passim), but are quite fre-
quent in the classical literature : babutaram, mandataram, purva-
taram, cirataram, etc., cf. also the element -ak- “infixed”,
bhinnataram, cbinna-tarakam Mababbas. V. 4. 4. In fact the rapid
decline of the autonomy of the preverb brought with it also the
decline of adverbs in -taram in so far as they owed their existence to
the function of this autonomy.
The AV. too offers some examples of prataram (references in
Whitney, Index, s.v.) but exclusively in formulas of the Rgvedic
types; moreover with the MS. it shares the form samtaram in the
mantra sdmsitam cit samtaram sam sisadhi (references in Ved.
Cone.), and the form uttaram (distinguished from the neuter
uttaram ) in the mantra ud enam uttaram naya : both the mantras
are in conformity with Rgvedic diction. One would be tempted to
attribute to the MS. a third form in -taram, masquerading under the
aspect dva tara of the manuscripts (avataram of the padapdtba;
dvattaram TS., dvattaro AV.) ad II. 10. 1 :. 131. 9; it has to be con-
Adverbs in - tardm , -tardm
.123
fessed however that the reading dva tara , which is given along with’
the MS. also by VS. and TS., give the most natural syntactical con-
struction (Whitney-Lanman ad Av. XVIII. 3. 3. Vedic Variants, II
§ 833), — a fact which in question regarding mantras does not signify
that it is also the best.
If the mantras of the MS. are the only ones of the YV. showing
this formation, the prose of the same Samhita (of the YV.) is the
only one which has retained any trace of it, — a precious proof of
linguistic homogeneity between the mantra and the brahmana
within the sphere of the same text. But the use made of these
adverbs in prose already tends to differ from their use in the mantra :
the value of the “preverb’’ is much less clear in them. The forms
in question are firstly, abbitardm and apataram in one and the same
passage of the MS. (I. 4. 12: 61. 10), yam kamdyetabhitardm
vasiyan sreyan t syad tti tdsyabhikramam jubuyat tena so ’bhitaram
vasiyan sreyan bbavaty dtba yam kamdyetaparatardm papiyan t syad
tti tasyapakramam jubuyat tena so ’pataram papiyan bbavati “the
person, of whom he wishes that he might become richer and more
happy, should offer the oblation by advancing towards him, and he
of whom he wishes that his condition may grow worse should offer
the oblation by receding from him.” This is the passage which
has inspired the ApSs. II. 17. 5 with its formula abhitaram vasiyan
syat avatar am papiyan syat. Caland in his translation of the
latter text explains abhitaram and avataram as two namuls : but it
is quite clear that the sentence in its more complete form as found
in the Samhita forbids this connection. The two adverbs pleonas-
tically strengthen the following adjectives. It is a case of -tardm
gliding into a simply adverbial value : moreover Rudradatta too inter-
prets it in this way, for he glosses the forms by sutaram and
avakrstataram respectively.
Even pratardm is purely adverbial in MS. I. 8. 4: 120. 6
pratardm va yajndsyabhikrantyai (opposed to nd pascad upa sadayet ).
Adverbs in -tardm, -tardm
J2 4
On the other hand samtardm remains a preverb in III. 7. 10: 91. 5
samtardm mekhaldm a yacchate : on comparing it with the parallel
passage in TS. VI. 2. 2. 7, which gives the verbal locution in the
more complete form sama yacchate , it will be evident that the
sentence follows the phraseology of the RV. itself, type vi tardm vt
bhahi. It is true that in this passage Schroeder’s text reads
samtardm; but the manuscripts, have samtaran (sic), and the forms
in -tardm, cited above suffice to compel the restitution samtardm.
Last of all let us mention avantardm MS. II. 5. 1 : 47. 3; IV.
5. 8 bis: 73. 21 and 76. 2 (likewise also in TS. VII. 4. 5. 4 = 5.
4. 2; TB. II. 3. 5. 4): but the original preverbial character of *an
(for inspite of its meaning, the word belongs rather to antdr and
antara-” situated in the interior’, that is to say, to the preverb *an,
than to antara- “other, different ”, which is attested only towards
the end of the Vedic period) was lost already before the historical
period, and the form gains currency as adverb, safeguarded more-
over by the neuter dntaram which functions already from the RV.;
the adverb abhyantaram of the classical language, of which the
structure seems to be the same at first sight is a specialisation of
the substantive abhyantara-.
The type in -tardm which disappeared so early, was replaced
and extended by a formation in -tardm. Although this formation,
as also the other, finds a theoretical justification in the original Indo-
European (see further below), yet, from the philological point of
view, it gives the impression of being born in the Vedic period,
then growing up progressively and finally diminishing after the
Vedic period. Compared with the type in -tardm, it has the aspect
of a new formation aiming at replacing the preceding one.
The RV. offers only one example of it, and that in a fragment
of a hymn which has been considered to be recent (Grassmann,
Vbers.; cf. Arnold, Ved. Metre, p. 282), which however it will be
doubtless more proper to consider as belonging to a linguistic niveau
Adverbs in -taram, -taram
X2 5
distinct from that in which the Vedic hymns have been normally
composed. The passage concerned is VIII. 33. 19, — the verse in
which, in course of an obscene description, it is said samtaram
padakau hara “press well together your small feet”; the usage is
visibly a familiar one, doubtless even vulgar: the “diminutive”
-tarhm associated with the diminutive -kd. The form has been
correctly analysed already from the time of Roth; it is difficult to
see why in Grassmann’s dictionary alone an illusory nominal stem
*samtarh has been installed; samtaram bar a is formed exactly
like paratardm jihttam X. 59. 1-4, and cf. Ludwig, Commentar
ad loc., as well as Gaedicke, Accusative, p 227. It may be recalled
in this connection that Gaedicke, op. c., p. 230, and afterwards
Oldenberg, Noten ad V. 34. 9 have vindicated also for the form
upam'am in V. 349 the character of an adverb in -am : the meaning
still remains very uncertain; even more uncertain is the meaning
of mab'am II. 24. 1 1 which Oldenberg was inclined to regard as
an adverb. Upamam at all events occurs in a passage of the aspect
of “danastuti”, — a type which, as is well known, is characterised
by certain traits suggestive of modernity or familiarity. Samtarhm
is very probably quite isolated; but the AV. resumes the formation
by giving the adverb paras taram three times (cf. parastardm of the
RV.): V. 22. 7; 30, 9; VI. 67. 1. These are truly Atharvavedic
passages, and on the other hand the use is also truly adverbial.
As the AV. possesses,' as has been noticed already, preverbs in
-taram in its hieratic portions, this text becomes the theatre of a
conflict between the two formations, though at the same time it
reveals clearly what had been their proper spheres originally : -taram
a preverb proper, employed in mantras of the srauta type, and
-tafam, rather adverbial, and representing a more familiar aspect of
the vocabulary. Here again it will not be possible to depend on
the form upam'am XVIII. 3. 65 (also SV.), which must have been
secondarily substituted for the upaman of the RV. (ftp# mhm TA.,
126
Adverbs in -tar am, -taram
in order to legitimatise the new form), though it could furnish no
plausible sense, cf. Vedic Variants, III§ 495.
The situation of the other mantras is clear: -tar'am occurs in
them only in passages borrowed from RV.-AV. or modelled after
the fashion of these Samhita. The tendency towards -taram is
clear, — not only in the new mantras ( prataram AsvSs. I. 4. 8),
but also in the variants of ancient mantras. If the vitardm of RV.
(AV.) is maintained throughout without any change in the YV., the
better known form sam taram AV. MS. (in the mantra already
quoted; see the reference for this form and the following ones in
the Vedic Variants III§ 823, jointly wth the Vedic Cone.) changes
into samtarkm VS. TS. KS.; but above all it is pratardm which
is subjected to a systematic variation : the first case of pratardm RV.
MS. KS. : prataram TS.; the second case of pratardm RV. : -km
SV.; the third case of pratardm RV. AV. : -km TA. (and pratiram
MGS.); the fourth case of pratardm, RV. KS. : -am ApSs.; the fifth
case of pratardm RV. AV.: -am SV.; the sixth case of pratram
RV. VS. MS. KS. : -am TS. (Oldenberg, Prolegom. p. 305).
Finally, without the participation of RV., pratardm AV. MS.KS. :
-am VS. TS. Only may, add further uttardm AV. MS. (mantra
quoted already : -am VS. TS. KS., which is given in the Vedic
Variants under §814. Lastly upamam RV. : -am SV. (§819). The
distribution of the forms is quite clear: AV. and MS. retain the
short final vowel, SV. goes over to the long like TS. (and tributary
texts); VS. — and KS. above all — exhibit an irresolution in this
regard, Kap. exactly follows KS.
It is from this clear cut state of things that the oldest prose
makes a new departure: it has been noticed that the Brahmana
portions of the MS. were practically the only ones to use -taram :
it could be well anticipated that they would ignore -taram. It is
true that Schroeder’s text I. 8. 2 : 1 16. 13 gives the form natam'am.
That would be a grave and double innovation;, for hitherto we
Adverbs in -taram, - taram
127
have met with “comparatives” only, not with superlatives, and on
the other hand the basic stem was hitherto furnished either by a
preverb, or by an adverb of direction. In fact, the passage has been
certainly altered and its meaning remains doubtful; if the reading
of the mss. is adhered to, which is na tamam vt dahati, one, would
be rather inclined to think that a *vitam'am (imitation of *vitarkm,
the later form of vitaram ) in the negative clause, where the tmesis
was not permissible, was somehow divided and finally developed into
na tamam vt d° .
If the MS. does not seem to employ this formation, the other
Samhitas, which do not know the use of -taram, offer several adverbs
in -taram : the TS. has samtaram. mekhalam sama yacchate VI. 2.
2. 7 (Cf. above samtaram of the MS. in the same sentence), — a
formula (of the familiar type?) which has been resumed in KS.
XXIV. 9 : 100. 20 = Kap. XXXVIII. 2. Delbriick, Ai. Syntax,
p. 195 says that in the prose he could not find any case of the usage
represented by Rgvedic vitaram vi bhahi ; but the example above is
cjuite clear. Cf. also samtarani\ upa dadhyat TS. V. 7. 10. 3,
prataram karoti KS. XXV. 7: 112.4=: Kap. XXXIX. 5. On the
other hand paras-taram KS.XXXV. 17: 63. 7 = Kap. XLVIII. 15
as well as uttaram (but probably derived from the adjective uttara
rather than from the preverb ud) opposed to daksinatas KS. XXIX.
8: 176. 16 is adverbial.
The TB. offers only one parastaram (in the same mantra as KS.
cited above), and a new formation nitaram II. 1. 10. 2: nitaram
arm upavaiti “the flame goes down inside it”: the adverb
strengthens upa.
The PB. has only parastaram XVII. 14. 3 bis; the same form in
the published portions of JB. (3 times; references in the Index of
Vishvabandhu Sastri), — a text which further knows atitaram (Aus-
wahl, p. 205, 1. 5) this last word is used in connection with verb
1 28 Adverbs in -taram, -taram
“to be”, which marks the completion of the semantic decline of this
formation.
The only form which with full certainty can be attributed to
the KB. is nitaram (XV. 4) functioning as a preverb; uttaram (X. 6)
quoted by Oertel in this connection ZIl. V. p. 1 13 is certainly a
feminine of the adjective: cf. Keith’s translation ad loc., as well as
Caland, AO. X. p. 315. If the reading is authentic, the same text
would furnish the first example of a base constituted by a verbal
adjective : anudayitataram XV. 4 (reading of one manuscript and of
the text AnSS.). The form comes after nitaram and can only signify
“in still lower a tone” (Keith). On the other hand the use of ad-
verbial comparatives on verbal stems is not unknown cf. asrutataram
quoted above. But, from the morphological point of view, one
would expect * anudattataram . Only two Brahmanas furnish some
extension of this type of adverbs, — AB., and above all, SB. AB. has
abhitaram III. 44. 5 used in a clearly “preverbial” sense: the pro-
position yadabhitaram eti resumes the preceding expression
yadabbyeti in order to strengthen it. It favoured the development
of the adverbs uccaistaram III. 7. 10-11; 24. 4, sanais° 7. 10-11,
45 - 6 > nicais° 24. 6-7. Uttaram VII. 20. 4, has less to do with the
uttaram of the AV. than with the stem uttara, — “on his upward
course” (Keith). If as we believe, the form *natamhm of MS. has
to be rejected, it is AB. which furnishes the earliest examples of
adverbs in - tamam : e.g. pratamam (in adverbial use) I. 9. 8; III. 47.
6; 48.4; 49.8 and jyoktamam II. 8. 4. The fixation nataram is made
at last in IV. 25. 3 : the sentence te nataram papmanam apabata
gives the negative counterpart of what would have been something
like *te papmanam apataram abata; with the exception of the un-
certain uttaram the pancikas V — VIII, it may be noted, have no
forms in -taram (- tamam ) .
But the text which develops this formation to the highest degree
is the SB. this is of a piece with the traits of linguistic intensifica-
Adverbs in -taram, - taram
129
tion which so often characterise this Br. Thus we have, on preverbs
(references in Oertel, op. c. p. 113) atitar'am (with ablative construc-
tion : the first appearance of this usage), anutamhm, abhitarhm (semi-
preverb), avantaram and vyantarkm, atamhm (“superlative of
(akhayate^' as justly remarks Eggeling ad X. 1-2.3), ^t tar am K.
( — uttar'avat M. in the sense of “the following day”, opposed to
sampratt), pratamam, pratitaram, vitaram, samtaram. Forms on non-
preverbial stems : of the forms attested before : parastaram, jyokta-
mam, uccaistaram (K.), nataram\ of new forms: addhatamam (typi-
cal adverbial use, as predicate of a nominal sentence : agntr vai
devanam addhatamam, and analogues), adhastaram (at the side of
pratitaram ), avistarim (with ablative construction). But the SB. goes
on developing the form still further: it imposes this constructon on
an adjective stem pratyaksatamam (as adverbial predicate) and even
on a superlative nedisthatamam and perhaps nedisthamam III.
1. 1. 5, (likewise as predicate). This formation tends more and
more to become the adverbial counterpart of the adjectives in -tara
and - tama -: we find (references in Vishvabandhu Sastri) addhatama
-,AA. pratyaksatama -AB. avistama- JB., etc., not to speak of
(ittara-uttama.
For the Gop B. see some forms (without innovations) pointed
out by Oertel l.c.
The formation now declines rapidly : apart from uparam I. 58.
4, which is a question apart, the JUB. has only atitaram IV. 21.
2 = 3 (with object in the accusative) and nitaram I. 38. 2 bis, — types
already known before. The ApSS., of which form abhitarami (II,
17, 3), as has been pointed out, owed its existence to its usage in the
MS., uses in its own language abhitaram VI. 8. 4; parastaram on
the other hand, IX. 1. 18, is derived from TB. (Cf. Caland ad loc.),
as samtaram XI. 2. 1 from TB. and SB. (Cf. Caland ad. loc.); like-
wise vitarqm XI. 18. 5. where the use is definitely “preverbial” —
vitaram mekhalam visramsate (whence, ibid., vitaram musti karsate)
I.H.Q., march, 1938 *7
* 3 °
Adverbs in -taram, -taram
— is based on the model of a Brahmana (Cf. samtardm mekhalam 'a
yacchae MS., quoted above. In other words, the language of the
Sutras, in their autonomous portions, take resort to this procedure in
a very limited degree, and did net call forth any innovation.
The Baudh. SS. has samtaram and vitaram V. 12. The AsSs.
has sanaistaram V. 1. 1 bis, the KSS. nicaistaram VII. 2. 31. The
nitaram of SSS. VII. 20. 10 is derived from KB. : in the same text,
in course of the episode of Sunahsepa in Brahmana style, the formula
nitaram faso mum nee XV. 22 replaces v i (to read vitaram ? Cf.
Keith ad loc.; the tmesis in fact is not 111 normal place) paso mumuce
AB. VII. 16. 13. The formula would have replaced a tmesis felt to
be something fallen into disuse.
The Grhyasutras operate only with banal adverbs, uccaistaram
S. (also ApDh. I. 8. 8) and nicaistaram ibid, (references in Stenzler’s
index). The AA. has only avistaram II. 3. 2 ter: the quite unusual
form annatamam (on a substantive stem), which in I. 4.1 was sug-
gested to be an adverb by Max Muller, has been explained in a
satisfactory way by Keith ad loc. as a substantive of which the gender
was influenced by virajam. The Pratisakhyas have uccaistaram and
nicaistaram TPr. I. 41 and 44.
For classical Sanskrit it is important to note at first that the use
of preverbs as stems to -taram is extremely restricted : atitaram occurs
in Kenop. (with object in accusative, in a sentence analogous to that
of the JUB. quoted above), Kalidasa, Amaru, Vedantas., etc. (for
this word and the following look up the references in BR. and pw.;
atitamam Narayana ad Naisadh.); nitaram Ram. Mhbh. Bhartrh.
Amaru, Pane. etc. (nitamam Hammira, references in Barth, Oeuvres
III, p. 396). Apart from these there are only adverbs, of which the
enumeration follows: —
alamtaram Kumar, (later portions), Sisup.;
uccaistaram Panini, Mahabhasya, Kam-Nitis., Kumar.
(in reference to which the Durghatavrtti, p. 91 gives the different
Adverbs in -tardm, -tardm
r 3 x
readings uccaistaram, that is to say, the adjectives but the reading
-tardm is better attested c£. mohrke, Vallabhadeva’s Comm. Zm
K um., p, 67);
uccaistamam Ravanarj. XVII. 41;
kaccittamdm Naisadh. VIII. 57 (C£. Narayana ad loc.;
wrongly taken to be an independent example o£ tamam by pw.);
kathamtardm Sarvadars.;
kutastaram Samkhyaprav.;
nataram in the philosophical commentaries and at an earlier age
in the Mahabhas. I. 3. 1 : 233. 10;
punastaram Sisup., Haravij. XXIX. 18;
prdtastardm Bhattik.;
bahutardm Caurap.;
bhiiyastardm Ram. (reading very uncertain, the recension o£
N.-W. reads II. 109. 15 bbiiyds tathd ); sutaram (the only form of
this series which has a truly living usage) MhBh., Kalidasa, Puranas,
etc., also Mahabhas. VII. 3.14: 320. 22, Arthas. X. 6.7, Divy.,
p. 526. 1 . 2 (the only example in Buddhist Sanskrit?);
sutamdm is noted by Monier Williams without giving
reference.
The Vedic commentaries know moreover forms like viprakrsta-
tardm and samnikrstatardm as glosses of vitardm and samtardm
BaudhSS. V. 12, cf. Caland’s Index ad loc. It is doubtful whether
this extension occurs in texts other than those which move within
the Vedic sphere.
At the end let us note that, very curiously, the Bhagav. Pur., X.
46. 43 gives vast u tardm na vdcyam (comm, nitardm ): “nothing
exists which can be designated by a name” (Burnouf). The libera-
tion of the element tardm must have been understood by the author
to be a Vedism, connected by him with the autonomous preverbs of
the Veda, and perhaps more directly with the (uncertain) form na
tamam of the MS.
* 3 2
Adverbs in -taram, -taram
Palnini’s rule (V. 4. 1 1) about -taram (- tamam ) refers to a state
of the language only partially represented by the Vedic texts. In
comformity with the orientation which we believe to have discover-
ed in the RV., it was certainly a formation properly belonging to a
linguistic niveau socially inferior to that which can be apprehended
by means of the religious texts preceding or contemporaneous with
Panini. Let us for the present leave aside the question of the per-
sonal verb. Panini prescribes -taram (-tamam) also after kirn (Cf.
kaccit,° katham° and kutas 0 of the later classical texts cited above);
after the words in e (for which the commentators give the example
piirvahnetar am -tamam; Abhayacandrasuri ad Sakat. adds praline 0 ,
as also Vop.; others aparahne ) 0 ; and finally after “avyayas”, for
which none of all the commentators can give any example other
than uccaistaram -tamam. The case of preverbs has not been noted,
and Panini justly separates the ending -am (alternative of -am) as
belonging to the chandas (sutra 12): the sutra is glossed by pratardm
of the RV., but it is equally justifiable to think that the author of
the sutra had in mind the short finals in the prose of the MS.
In the same passage (V. 4. 1 1) Panini also prescribes the use of
-tarhm ~{tam : am) after the personal forms of the verb. The gramma-
tical commentators give examples of this type in great abundance be-
cause they serve to delimit for them the proper field of the final
elements : thus it is that we find in the Mahabhasya (passim, see the
index published) pacatitardm and prapacati 0 , jalpati 0 and prajal-
pati 0 bhindyus° and cbindyus 0 , akari° and ahari° ; the Bhasavrtti
ad V. 4. 1, gives yati ° , vakti° and gacchati° , Abhayacandrasuri ad
Sakat gives pathati 0 , etc.
It is hardly necessary today to justify Panini against the attacks
of Whitney (AmJPh., XIV, p. 191; cf. also his Grammar §473(2),
who refused to recognise those forms and declared them to be “bar-
barous”, but who was combated from the beginning in an effective
way by Bohtlingk, Ber. Sachs. Ges., 1893, p. 253. (Cf. also Liebich',
Adverbs in - taram , -taram
I 33
Panini, p. 61, Speyer, Skt Syntax, p. 189, Dellbriick, Vgl. Syntax, I,
p. 624). As was already anticipated by Ludwig, Rgveda, V, p. 158,
the formation is explained immediately when viewed in the light
of the Vedic usage of -tarhm after preverbs : from the day the con-
junction of preverb and the verb became compulsory an old* pratar'am
(pro) pacati became prapacatitaram by the force of circum-
tances. The formulas cited above from the later Brahmanas —
abhitaram eti, atamam khyayate — are constructions half-way to this
final form. And for the general procedure of the affixation to a verb
one may compare the parallel formations of the grammarians, such
as pacatikalpam, pacatiriipam, pacatigotram, jalpatibruvam, pacataki,
etc.
Had it been possible to trace the origin of this movement, it is
quite probable that it would have also shown that it was in operation
at first where the verb was furnished with a preverb. But the attes-
tations that we have are so much later than Panini that it is not
possible for us to reconstruct its genesis. This formation moreover
appears almost exclusively in the poetical texts, and above all in those
texts which also otherwise present such traits of literary refinement
that the types in -taram teach us less about the real productivity of
a traditional usage than about the grammatical culture and
pedanticism of the authors.
The following are the examples which we have been able to
collect:]
For the Ramialyana Bohtlingk (BR. s.v. sad- and Ber. Sachs.
Ges., 1887, p. 216) quotes sidatetaram II. 64. 72; it is necessary
to know however if the form is authentic; in the current editions
it has been replaced by sidatwa me, which may be the product of
a recent normalisation; the N.-W. recension does not contain the
passage.
Kalidasa does not use this formation : prabhavatitaram
Vikramorv., V. 18 is for this reason problematic, — all the more be-
*34
Adverbs in -taram, -taram
cause the textual tradition is uncertain. After Kalidasa and particular-
ly in the Jaina poetry the forms increase greatly: ramayati 0 Ratnav.
st. 53, prathayati° tirayati° jadayati 0 st. 53 Cappeller (but tapati
stf taram st. 54, in a simpler passage); dahati° Pane. Kielhorn I.
324 = Spruche 2 4092; prasarati 0 Bhartrh., Bohlen (Vairagyas. st. 17);
kathayati° (var: sthagayati° ) Bhajminiv., II. 78; vitarati 0 Mayura
Quackenbos (Suryasat. n° 28 p. 143); eti° Ravanarj. XVII. 41;
vyathayati 0 Prabodhacandr. IV. 22 = Spruche 2 3045; rajati 0
Haravij XXII. 9; udyati 0 Mark-Pur. according to Pargiter’s transla-
tion LXIX. 60 ( not confirmed by a part of the texts); karoti° raca-
yati° vidadhati 0 Subhasitasamd. of Amitagati (quoted by
R. Schmidt ZDMG. LIX. p. 2 67). It is clear therefore that the
present (3rd sing.) act. is by far the most dominant form in the field;
yet however imperfects appear in the Kathas. ( alabhata 0 XXVI. 285;
aiso the present prasamsati 0 CIV. 218) and in the Parisistaparvan of
Hem. (acintayat 0 VI. 108 Hertel ZDMG. LXII. p. 364); an aorist
in vyasvasit 0 Hammira IV. 92; a future in Kathas. ( hasisyati 0
LX VI. 92); forms of the middle in the same text ( sraddadhe 0 XXI.
47; CII. 35 apart from alabhata 0 quoted above), and, in a manner
which seems to be quite systematic, in the Jama narrative texts :
see the forms quoted from Salibhadracar. by Bloomfield JAOS.
XLIII. p. 314, and the Parsvanathacarita (in which this usage of
the verb in general is very frequent. Bloomfield transl. p. 238, who
cites akarayat 0 I. 430) we have noted susubhe 0 VI. 1252 labhate 0
I 712. Cf. also sasrje 0 Anargh. I. 23; ksiyate° Mahaviracar. VI.
55 (thus, in the non-genuine part of the work!); iksate° Ravanarj.
XVII. 23, and more in the Kapphinabhyudaya.
The prose lays far behind: karisyate° Sukas. orn. Schmidt
p. 13 1 . ix and (imperative!) uttar ay a° p. 21 1 . 13; kurvanti 0 and
nivartayasva° Tantrakhy. (Hertel, Ober d. Tantrakbyayika,
p. XVII). Finally, in a very unexpected fashion, we find upapadyate 0
in Sankara in his commentary of the Brahmasutra (Deussen, System
Adverbs in -tardm, -taram
>35
des Vedanta , p. 39, note). All the forms cited have - taram in
final; in order to get examples of -tamam we have to come down *
to Hammira (Mahakavya in Jaina style), from which quite a mass
of such forms has been fished out by Barth, Oeuvres , III. p. 368 =
Rev. crit. 1881 I. p. 447. The very fact that -tamam is rare contri-
butes to strengthen the case for -taram.
It is evidently in imitation of this usage of the personal forms
of the verb that a Jaina author, Nemidatta, takes the liberty of
affixing taram to the nominative of a verbal noun functioning as
the predicate of a nominal sentence : mantri srisakadalakhyo jaina-
dharme ratastaram “(his) minister $. was devoted to Jaina religion”
(verse quoted by Alsdorf Kumarapalapr. p. 189 v. 2). It remains
doubtful if this mode was ever imitated by many.
A few words may suffice for the origin of -tardm / \ -taram. If
the final short vowel does not require any linguistic justification,
the long final — which renders it even more strange — does not lack
analogies either among Vedic adverbs or beyond the domain of Indian
languages (Brugmann, Grundr., II. 2 p. 687) though however we
need not seek refuge in the hypothesis of an instrumental in -dm
(literatur in Wackernagel-Debrunner, At. Gramm., III. p. 35) or a
particle -dm (Hirt Idg. Gramm., III. p. 97). Ancient Iranian was
able to independently constitute similar adverbs, — on the one hand
apataram in old Persian (Meillet-Benveniste, Gramm, du v. perse
p. 232; Cf. also aparam p. 235), and on the other fratardm -an in
later Avesta (Nir. 79; ibid, also aparam ).
But it appears that the limitation of the alternation -tardm j\
-tardm (- tamam comes into play only at a later date and that secon-
darily) and the conditions themselves under which this alternation
takes place suggest that these final elements were tentative super-
positions resorted to for the sake of normalising the older adverbial
forms in suffix - tar : those which have been accidentally preserved in
antdr, prdtar and sanutdr (forms of which the stem was obscured
136 Adverbs in -taram, - tar am
or unknown), and which have been concealed in various ways by
the forms ant ark, antari 0 , abhitas (devoid of ablative value, and
secondarily integrated to the category in -tas). In the last analysis,
the starting point must have been -tar : this formation in its turn
is but a member of a more general group of Indo-European forms
as has been shown by Benveniste in his Origines de la formation
des noms p. 100 et seq., and particularly p. 105.
L. Renou
MISCELLANY
/
Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas
In this Quarterly vol. XIII, no. 2, pp. 199#., Dr. A. Banerji
Sastri has published a paper Sakas and Kusanas in the l and II cen-
turies, which seems to be intended to explain the short article “Date
of Kaniska vindicated” that appeared over the same scholar’s name
in the JBORS., vol. XXIII, pp. 113d. Having already sent a short
rejoinder to the latter contribution to the editor of the JBORS.,
I shall not here repeat myself. But it seems to me that the new
study gives rise to some doubt about certain details.
The most important results to .which Dr. Banerji claims to have
arrived, mainly in agreement with the late lamented Mr. Jayaswal,
are that Nahapana was not a Saka, but an Indian that his date is
earlier than the Vikrama era, and that the Saka era of 78 A.D. was
founded by Kaniska. I shall take these points in the same order as
the learned author.
We are told, p. 200, that “there is not a trace of evidence in (?)
either literary (Puranic and Jama) or archeological (symbols on
Nahavana’s coins) in support of the contention that Nahavana was a
foreigner.”
I have always thought that we had an indication of Nahapana’s
foreign origin in his name, and I am still convinced that Thomas’ ex-
planation of the same 1 as Iranian and meaning ‘people protecting’ is
right. Dr. Banerji, however, tells us, p. 207, that “as a matter of
fact the name is not foreign.” He does not try to explain its mean-
ing but only gives some illustrations of the well-known fact that inter-
vocalic -kb- and -bh- both become -h- in Prakrit. Since the proper
form is Nahapana and not Nahavana, it would perhaps be well to
t JBAS ., 1906, p. 21 1.
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938 l8
1 38 Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas
state why the intervocalic p is retained, and certainly to tell us what
a nakbapdna or nabbahpana could possibly mean.
Another indication might be found in the names of Nahapana’s
son-in-law and the latter’s father, Usavadata and Dimka, respectively.
The explanation of the name Dimka has been found by Liiders, 2 * and
nobody seems to have contested it. It is derived from dina-, which
would be the regular Saka form of Avestan daena - ‘religion , with
the suffix ika, which is well-known from Saka/ The i of dina- goes
back to old Iranian ai and may point to the conclusion that the form
does not belong to the oldest Saka stratum. For ai is still e in the
Maialbashi dialect of Saka, 4 * 6 7 while it has already become / in
binaza-<.baindza - ‘army leader’ in the Endere document of the
Khotan maharaya rayatiraya hinaza dheva Vijidasimba / But it is
hardly permitted to lay much stress on this feature.
The name of Dimka’s son Usavadata presents greater difficulties.
There can be no doubt with regard to the proper form, which must
be Usavadata, as given in his own and his wife’s inscriptions, Nasik
No. 10-14“/ The forms Usabhadata, occurring in the Karle inscrip-
tion no. 13,' and Usabbadata, which is used in the inscriptions of his
son Mitadevanaka 1 ’ and of Gotamiputa Sin Sadakam/ seem to point
to a tendency to explain usava as corresponding to Sanskrit rsabba.
Modern scholars have adopted the same explanation, and Naha-
pana’s son-in-law usually figures as Rsabhadatta. There has even
been a tendency to draw the inference from this supposed name that
he was a Jaina, an inference which cannot be supported by anything
2 SBAW., 1913, p. 414. 3 Cf. my Saka Studies, p. 61.
4 C£. SBAW., 1935, p. 784.
5 Kharosthi Inscriptions discovered by Sir Aurcl Stein in Chinese Turkestan,
No. 66 1, cf. my remarks Acta Orientalia , xiv., p. 234.
6 Senart’s edition, Ep . Ind., viii, pp. 78s. The reading tasa for tasa in the
beginning of No. 14a is a mere slip.
7 Ep. lnd., vii, p. 57, no. 13. 8 Ibidem pp. 56, no. 10.
9 Ep . lnd., viii, pp. 71E, no. 4.
*39
Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas
we know from his inscriptions. Liiders 10 has rightly remarked that
the forms Usabhadata and Usavadata cannot be explained as Prakrit
form of Rsabhadatta. He identified data- with Saka data- ‘law’ and
saw in usava- a Saka loanword from Skt. rsabha-. This analysis is
certainly much superior to the usual one, but is not beyond doubt.
We must ask why rsabha- should become usava- when rsi- is
borrowed as risi-, and it is further not advisable to separate data-
from the element data- which is known from Iranian names
in data-, where it is hardly possible to avoid thinking also of the parti-
ciple data-. The only thing which seems to me to be certain is that
the last part of the word, data-, is Iranian, and a priori it is likely that
the same is the case with usava-, and, as I have stated elsewhere, 11 it
would be possible to derive usava- from usrava<.husrava- ‘well-
famed’, cf. Avestan husravah- and Kavi-Husravab-. The name of
Usavadata’s father, Dinika-, might also lead us to think of Zoroas-
trian notions.
I think, however, that it is not safe to attempt to etymologize.
Even if usava- is a Saka loanword from Skt. rsabha -, it is not at all
necessary, or even likely, to think of Jaina association. Rsabha-
occurs among the designations of Buddha (Mahavyutpatti i. 18).
A third indication to the effect that Nahapana was an Iranian,
and most probably a Saka, what his son-in-law is expressly stated to
have been in the Nasik Inscription No. 14“, 12 seems to be con-
tained in his designation ICsaharata.
It has usually been taken for granted that this word is tHe name
of a family, because Siri Satakani Gotamiputa in his mother’s ins-
cription of the 19th year of Siri Pulumayi Vasithiputa 13 is
characterized as Khakharatavasaniravasesakara ‘rooting out the
Khakharata (i.e., Ksaharata) race.’ It can hardly be doubted that
10 hoc, cit pp. 413I:.
11 Journal of Indian History , xii, p. 38. 12 Ep . lnd. t via, p. 85.
13 Ep. lnd. f viii, p. 60.
1^0
Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas
vasa- here corresponds to Skt. vamsa-, and it is a priori likely that it
means ‘family, race’, though it can also be translated ‘lineage.’
But there are other indications which seem to point to the conclusion
that ksaharata was a title and not the name of a family or clan.
The oldest certain occurrence of the word is in the Taxila
copperplate of the year 78, during the reign of the maharaya
mahamta Moga. It records the establishment of relics by Patika,
the son of Liaka Kusalaka, and Liaka is described as ksaharata
Cukhasasa ca ksatrapa. Xl The most natural explanation is that
ksaharata and ksatrapa are both titles of Liaka, and ksaharata then
evidently the higher one. I have therefore 3 * proposed to explain
ksaharata as Kgadrarata ‘realm-caretaker’, wherewith I must leave it
Iranian scholars to decide whether the r or K$adra could disappear
before the following r, or a difference of dialect should be stated.
I am convinced that this explanation is essentially right, and
that we should translate the word as ‘regent’ or ‘viceroy’, and the
term khakharatavasa-niravasesakara as ‘making an end to the lineage
of the viceroys’.
But who were those ‘viceroys’ who were done away with by
Siri Satakani Gotamiputa? In my opinion light is thrown on the
question by the well-known passage in the Hou Han-shu: “His
(i.e. Kujula Kadphises’) son Yen-kao-chen became king in his stead
reconquered T‘ien-chu and appointed a general there for the adminis-
tration.’’ The ksaharatas of Kathiawad and Malva etc. were the
‘generals’ who administered the country after Wima Kadphises’
reconquest.
This will of course be denied by Dr. Banerji, who places Naha-
pana “before the end of the Sunga dynasty c. 75 B.C.” His ex-
planation of how Nahapana and his “father (or predecessors, the
14 With regard Vo the syntax cf. my remarks in Bulletin of the Linguistic
Society of India , iv, p. 267.
15 Journal of Indian History , xii, p. 39 note 85a.
Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusdnas 141
relationship not being known)” came to use the title ksahardta can-
not be said to be based on solid ground. He says, p. 202, that it
‘‘can be easily explained by the influence of the contemporary Indo-
Greeks and Indo-Parthians from Kabul to Broach,” and quotes the
late Professor Rapson’s statement that ‘‘early in the first century,
c. 90 B.C., we find evidence of diplomatic relations between
Vidisa, which was still under the rule of the Sungas, and the Yavana
house of Eucratides at Taksasila in the north-west of the Punjab.”
Well, this might be quoted if we had to do with a Greek title, but
I do not suppose that Dr. Banerji will deny that ksahardta , as well
as ksatrapa, is Iranian. And we have no traces of an early Iranian
element in Kathiawad and Malva in the time when Nahapana and
his predecessors are stated to have ruled.
Our learned author, it is true, tells us much about early Saka
invasions on pp. 2o8ff., and partly things that are new to me and
probably to many others. The first Saka horde which he mentions
is said to have originally belonged to the south of China. It might
have been well to let us know on which foundation this absolutely
new statement is based. Then we are told that, when the Yue-chi
conquered Bactria c. 120 B.C., ‘‘the Sakas in turn overran and
occupied parts of the possessions of the Sungas. These are the Sakas
referred to by Patanjali.” This seems to me to be a thoroughly
gratuitous assumption, 1,1 but I do not think it is necessary to discuss
it before we learn something about Dr. Banerji’s reasons. That this
Saka conquest, of which we do not know anything whatever, might
account for the fact that Nahapana had a son-in-law who was a Saka,
seems to me to be a pis alter. To me this Saka son-in-law would be
impossible at so early a date as assumed by Dr. Banerji, not to speak
of the somewhat startling idea that a ruler, who is believed to have
been so thoroughly Indian, should have given his daughter in
16 Cf. Indian Culture, ii, pp. 189 ff.; iii, pp. iff.
142 Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas
marriage to a member of the people whom Patanjali considered to
be Sudras. It is more likely that Nahapana was himself a Saka.
These early Sakas who are supposed to have “overrun parts of
the possessions of the Sungas” are stated, on p. 209, to have been
‘Scythic’, while those of Seistan are said to have been ‘Iranian’.
I do not understand this distinction. Were not the Scythians
Iranians? I am, however, open to conviction, and I look forward
to Dr. Banerji’s arguments. But I agree with him with regard to the
main statements about their Indian conquests, and so far as I can
see he does not, no more than I do, assume that “the short-lived
Seistan Saka rule at Ujjain,’’ can explain how Nahapana could have
a Saka son-in-law or use Iranian titles like ksaharata and ksatrapa.
I agree with him when he says, Vikramaditya made an
end to this Saka rule, and that the Vikrama era dates from that
event.
The only Saka conquest which can account for Nahapana’s
titles and for the fact that his son was a 5 $aka is, in my opinion, the
second Saka conquest mentioned in the Kalakacaryakathanaka that
“another 5 aka king made an end to his dynasty and established an
era of his own, when 135 Vikrama years had elapsed.” Here we
are distinctly told about a Saka re-conquest, just as Wima Kadphises
is said to have re-conquered T‘ien-chu and just as the latter is said
to have appointed a general to administer the country, so we find
ksaharata ksatrapas in Kathiawad and Malva : Bhumaka and
Nahapana.
Bhumaka is, as has repeatedly been stated, an unusual name.
I do not know how Dr. Banerji explains it. But to me it looks like
a barbaric formation from bhumi and ka. And if such should be
the case, it is tempting to assume that it is an attempt at Indianizing
a foreign name, and then it is a curious fact that the Saka word for
‘earth’ is ysama, from which we would naturally form Ysamotika,
which we know as the name of Castana’s father.
Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas 143
The only objection to dating Nahapana so late and referring
his dated inscriptions to the well-known Saka era is that two Puranas
and some Jaina sources assign a higher date to him. With regard
to the Puranas, it ought to make us suspicious that only two of
them contain a name which can, with probability, be connected
with Nahapana. As to the Jaina sources, there are discrepancies, 17
and the ascent of the Guptas is dated 240 years after Naravahana,
i.e. probably Nahapana, in Jinasena’s Harivamsapurana , one of the
sources relied on by those who place Nahapana in the first half of
the first century B.C., and it is not easy to reconcile this with the
early dating, or to see why the older portion of the list should be
more reliable than the later one. So far as I can see it is not possible
to arrive at reliable results at the hand of these sources, and the old
view, which is probably held by most scholars, that Nahapana
belongs to the second half of the first century A.D. has not been
weakened by the ingenious combinations based on the two Puranas
and the Jaina sources.
I have no doubt that Boyer was right 1 '' in identifying Naha-
pana with the ruler whose name, in the genitive, occurs as Aianbanou
in the 41st chapter of the Periplus, and that the Siri Satakani Gotami-
puta who made an end to the lineage of the khakharatas, i.e., the
ksaharatas, was rightly assigned to the first half of the second century
A.D. by the late Professor Rapson and others.
Nahapana’s predecessor Bhumaka is styled ksaharata ksatrapa
or ksatrapa ksaharata , i.e. in my opinion ‘regent ksatrapa,’ and this
designation corresponds to the governor-general of the Hou Han-
shu. The title ksatrapa is in India chiefly used by Sakas. The
ksatrapa Manigula and his son Jihonika may have been Parthians,
and at least the latter probably held office under Azes, but it is likely
that the title goes back to the time of Moga, the predecessor of Azes,
17 Cf. Jayaswal, lnd. Ant., 1917, pp. 147 and 152.
18 JA 1897, ii, pp. 104#.
*44 Or. Banerji on Sakas and K us anas
and the Jihonika inscription of the year 191 is dated in the old Saka
era. The title ksatrapa further appears in an l8 “ inscription of
the year 83, i.e. probably A.D. 25, where we hear of a ksatrapa
Tirafarna. The Parthian rulers, however, also used another title,
evidently in about the some sense, viz. the Greek strategos,
which has not been found in connexion with Indian Saka rulers, but
which is rendered binaza-, i.e. binaza-, in the record of the Khotan
king Vijida-Simba, mentioned above. And this title corresponds to
the ‘general’ of the Hou-Han-shu.
Nahapana himself is styled rajan ksabarata in his coin legends
and rajan ksabarata ksatrapa in the inscriptions of his son-in-law
Usavadata. 19 The addition rajan seems to point to a more indepen-
dent position than that of Bhumaka. The last dated record where
the title ksabarata occurs is of the year 42, with an addition of the
year 45, i.e., as I think Rapson was right in saying, 120 and 123
A.D., respectively. It must have been about this time that the
Satavahanas made an end to the lineage of the ksaharatas.
Later on we find the titles mabaksatrapa and ksatrapa. Castana,
the son of Ysamotika, who is mentioned as rajan, together with his
grandson, the rajan Rudradaman, in the Andhau inscriptions of the
year 52, i.e., 130 A.D., 20 is styled rajan ksatrapa or rajan maba-
ksatrapa in his coin legends. His son Jayadama, who bears the title
rajan ksatrapa svamin in his coin legends, seems to have died be-
fore his father, because the latter is associated with his grandson in
the Andhau inscriptions. This grandson, on the other hand, is
always designated rajan mabaksatrapa in his coin legends and in the
Junagadh inscription of the year 72, i.e., A.D. 150, 21 where Rudra-
1 8a Acta Or tent alia, xvi, pp. 234ft.
19 In the present connexion it is not necessary to discuss the Junnar inscrip-
tion of Ayama; cf. my remarks in the Journal of Indian History , xii, pp. 40ft
20 Bp. Ind., xvi, pp. 19ft. 21 Ep. Ind viii, pp. 3 6ff.
Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas 143
*■
daman states that he had twice defeated Satakarni, the lord
of Daksinapatha, and himself acquired the title mabaksatrapa.
The title ksaharata accordingly disappeared some time between
A.D. 123 and 150, probably on account of the Satavahana conquest,
and it was not revived when the scales were turned against the
Andhras, probably in the time of Castana, and certainly under Rudra-
daman. Something seems to have happened which would explain
the change of title. And it is natural to think of the Kusanas, not of
the two first rulers, but of the dynasty of Kaniska.
Dr. Banerji states, p. 212, that “the great Yiie-chi, Kujula and
Wima used an old extra-Indian era.” I thought so myself when I
edited the Kharosthi inscrintions, because I had come to the result
1
that the word ayasa preceding asadasa in the Taxila silver scroll
inscription must be an adjective qualifying asadasa. This ay a
might, I thought, correspond to Skt. arya, because there are ex-
amples in the dialect of the dropping of r before y. But I did not
think it likely that an Indian month in an Indian inscription would
be characterized as Aryan, unless the usual thing was to employ
non-Indian names of the month, which is not the case. I therefore
tried to explain aya as representing Skt. adya, for which we should,
it is true, expect at a, but which might have been carelessly written
aya. If there were two asadhas in a particular year, I thought that
a scholar of Indian astronomy might find some indication of date in
this fact, and Dr. van Wijk was actually able to do so.
The Kalawan inscription of the year 134’ which came to light
after the publication of the Kharosthi inscriptions, shows that my
argument was wrong. There we find a similar way of dating, but
the word standing before Sravanasa, the name of the month, is here
ajasa. Here we accordingly have aja corresponding to aya of the
other record. We might think of Skt. adya-, inspite of the phone-
tic difficulty, but Dr. van Wijk has told me that there could not
be any possibility of an intercalated Sravana in 134, if there was an
MARCH, 1938 l 9
*46 Dr. Banerji on Sakas and K asanas
intercalated Asadha in 136. These apparent indications cannot,
accordingly, be utilized for setding the question about the era used
in these records. Aya in the silver scroll inscription might,
already stated, represent arya-, though aria- is the form which we
should expect and which actually occurs in the Dutreuil de Rhins
manuscript. But aja- in the Kalawan plate cannot be arya-, be-
cause ry never results in this dialect. Dr. Banerji, it is true, has
contributed a learned article about “The Aya Months” to the
JBORS., vol.XXII, pt. ii, in which he maintains that “ arya does
become ajja”, p. 264. It is a well-known fact that such is the case
in some Prakrit dialects, and it was perhaps superfluous to quote
Hemacandra and Dhanapala in order to prove that. But it is not so
in the dialect of Indian Kharosthi inscriptions and we ought by now
to have got so far that we do not explain words in our Prakrit forms
occurring in another.
In spite of Dr. Banerji’s severe criticism I- think that
we must date those two records in an era which was used under
Azes, and then in the Vikrama era.
We are, I think, justified in assuming that the Malava Vikrama
reckoning commemorates the establishment of the independence of
the Malavas, after the defeat of the old shortlived 5 aka dynasty.
In spite of all the arguments advanced in order to prove the contrary*
I look on it as the earliest secular era in India, and it spread early
beyond the frontiers of Malava. It was used by the Saka maha-
ksatrapa Sodasa in the ear 7 2 > 22 be. *5 A.D., the Panjtar inscription
of the year 122, i.e. A.D. 65, the Kalawan plate of the year 134,
i.e. A.D. 77, and the Taxila silver scroll of the year 136, i.e. A.D.
79 ’ anc ^ during the reign of Wima Kadphises we seem to have the
Khalatse inscription of the year 184 (or, less likely 187), i.e. A.D.
127. The operations which carried these rulers to the Indus and
reading 72, and not 42, has been convincingly established by Liiders,
Acta Orientalia, x, pp. 1 i8ff., in spite of Rapson, ibidem, xi, pp. a6df.
Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas 147
further, at least to Taxila, were gradual, and the era employed under
their Parthian predecessors remained in use, side by side with the
ancient Saka era.
The expedition led by Yen-kao-chen, i.e. Wima Kadphises, to
T’ien-chu, where he appointed a general for the administration of the
country, was a different matter. It was undertaken in order to
effect a re-conquest and nothing would be more natural than to
commemorate this event by the establishment of a new era, just as the
overthrow of the Sakas had been the occasion for instituting a new
reckoning. Dr. Banerji passes by this difference in the situation,
when he says, p. 215: “The Khalatse inscription disproves
the idea of any era by Wima Kadaphises.”
If the year 136 of the silver scroll corresponds to A.D. 79, the
historical Saka era must have been introduced during the life of
Kujula Kadphises. 2J The same remark applies to the re-conquest.
There is, moreover, nothing to show that Wima Kadphises was the
only, or the eldest son of Kujula. He may have had older brothers,
who died during his father’s lifetime. His life seems to have been
spent outside India, and if Bhumaka and Nahapana were his
viceroys, as I am convinced they were, we understand how they
appear almost as independent rulers.
The events following on the making an end to the lineage of
the ksaharatas by the Satavahana king and the disappearance of the
title ksaharata in or shortly after A.D. 123, and especially the re-
establishment of the power of the Western Ksatrapas can therefore
hardly have anything to do with Wima Kadphises. We must
necessarily think of the next Kusana ruler, of Kaniska.
Dr. Banerji deals with Kaniska on pp. 214 ff . : “It is well-
known that a branch of the Yiie-chi did not join in the expedition
23 In order to avoid being misunderstood, I may state here that there is in
my opinion, not the slightest reason for assuming the existence of a personal name
Kusana. Kusana is a regular adjective found from kusa-, cf. Saka balysana- from
balysa-.
Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas
148
towards the Ta-hia led by the forbears of Kujula and Wima. The
Kuei-shung [ ! ] , i.e. the Kusanas begin to appear in Chinese sources
after the Yiie-chi conquered Ta-hia. But what about a remainder
of them, small in number, who were unable to depart, took refuge
with the K’iang in the southern mountains’ ? The thread of
their story lies through Lanke (Lata) and Anaka (Surastra-Malava)
in Sandanes of Periplus and Ptolemy, and Tihan-t an Kaniska, who
became the master of Barygaza and the Konkan littoral as well
as Malava-Mathura , and whose era 78 A.D. replaced the Malava
era of Vikramaditya.” There are some points in this exposition
which can reasonably be doubted.
That Kaniska belonged to the Little Yiie-chi has been main-
tained by several scholars, and this assumption may have seemed
very natural in the days when the Kusanas were considered to be
Yiie-chi. But this has now become more than doubtful. We seem
to know that the Kusanas were in reality 5 akas, and since the Sakas
are clearly distinguished from the Yiie-chi in the oldest Chinese
sources they cannot well have belonged to that stock.' 1 Kaniska can-
not, therefore, belong to those Yiie-chi who did not join in the
exodus to the Ta-hia country.
That Kaniska proceeded through Larike and Ariaka and be-
came the master of Barygaza and the Konkan littoral as well as
Malava-Mathura, is a new theory which it is not easy to recon-
cile with such facts as can be gathered from his inscriptions. If we
abstract from the legend on the Kaniska casket, where the reading
of the year is not certain, we find him mentioned in inscriptions of
the years 3 Sarnath (Liiders Nos. 925, 92 7), 5, 7, 9 and 10 at
Mathura (Liiders Nos. 18, 21, 22, 23,), 11 at Sui Vihar and Zeda
(Kharosthi) etc. We gain the impression that he first went to the
24 Cf. Journal of Indian History, xii, pp. 7 ft. The remarks about the
Tokharians in that article can no more hold good. But that question does not
interest us in this connexion.
Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas iqq
Ganges country, and then retraced his steps westwards, but there is
nothing to show that he came to Lata and Malava. And this
explanation finds some support in the Annals of the Li country. 2 "
“Originally king Kaniska and the king of Gu-zan and the Li
ruler, king Vijaya Kirti, and others led an army into India and
captured a city named So-ked.’’ Similarly the translation of
Kumaralata’s Kalpanamanditika by Kumarajiva (c. 405 A.D.)
states that chen-t’an (old pronunciation according to Karlgren Nos.
1194 and 967 t’sien-d’an ) Kaniska conquered Tung T’ien-chu, i.e.
Eastern India’. 2 *’ So-ked is of course Saketa, and we therefore have
two independent traditions to the effect that Kaniska’s way went
to the Ganges country. The Annals further indicate that there
was a coalition of Central Asian powers which undertook the
expedition.
Dr. Banerji accepts the results arrived at by the late Prof.
Levi in his important posthumous paper “Kaniska et Satavahana ”,
JA., ccxxviii, 1936, pp. 6iff., that the Sandanes of the Periplus is
the same word as chen-t’an, and that only Kaniska can be meant,
wherefore Kaniska must be the founder of the Saka era of 78 A.D.,
since the author of the Periplus seems to treat him as living, and the
Periplus apparently belongs to the later half of the first century A.D.
I quite accept the equation chen-t’an = Sandanes, but if Sand-
anes were identical with Kaniska, the latter must evidently have
been the suzerain of Nahapana, if that ruler is actually mentioned in
the Periplus. For after the author has spoken of the Barygaze bay
and the Ariake khora as the beginning of Nahapam’s realm (Man-
banou basileid) in ch. 51, he mentions, in ch. 52, that Kalliena, which
was a regular emporium in the days of the elder Saraganes, i.e.
25 Thomas, Tibetan literary texts and documents concerning Chinese
Turkestan, p. i, London, 1935, p. 119*
26 Cf. Levi, JA., IX, viii, 1896, p. 457, Ind. Ant., xxxii, 1903, p. 385.
150 Dr. Barter ji on Sakas and K asanas
Satakarna, had been mainly barred after Sandanes bad taken it.
I do not know how Dr. Banerji explains this state of things.
Levi has brought together many interesting passages where the
term chen-t’an or cban-t’an occurs. They have been duly registered
by Dr. Banerji, even together with Levi’s remarks about the various
readings of the term corresponding to Sandanes in Ptolemy.
It is quite clear from Levi’s material that the term is applied
tc Kaniska by Kumarajiva and others, but the fact that Kumara-
jiva’s pupil Seng-chao replaces it by Y ue-chi-wang ‘Yiie-chi king, or,
prince’, clearly shows that it is not a personal designation of that
ruler, but has a more general meaning. And later on we con-
stantly find the term used about various royal persons, and, so far as
one can judge from Levi’s material, comparatively often about the
younger brother of a king, who may even retain it after he has him-
self ascended the throne.
We cannot therefore draw any certain conclusion from the
fact that the first time we find the term used in Chinese sources,
long after the date of the Periplus, it is applied to Kaniska. But we
are, I think, justified in inferring from Seng-chao’s substitution of
Y ue-chi-wang that it was a term or title used by the Yiie-chi', i.e. in
this connexion certainly the Kusanas, and I see no valid objection to
assuming that it was used about Wima Kadphises, when he under-
took his ‘re-conquest’.
If Yen-kao-chen accomplished his re-conquest of T’ien-chu
during the lifetime of his father, as we seem to be allowed to assume
from the date of the Taxila silver scroll, he was then not yet king, but
a royal prince. If his father is actually mentioned in the Takht-i-Bahi
inscription of the year 103, i.e. 45 A.D., as erzuna, and erzuna
corresponds to Saka alysanaa-, which renders Skt. kumara-, he him-
self would have undertaken this task as even such an erzuna-, and
this term would have a similar meaning as chen-t’an, so that he could
have been known under that title by those who informed the author
Dr. Banerji on Sakas and Kusanas mi
of the Periplus about the state of things in India. I must leave it
to Sinologists to decide whether the last element of the name Yen-
kao-chen can have anything to do with the chen of chen-t’an. It has
never been satisfactorily explained.
The account of the two Kadphises kings contained in the Hou
Han-shu is, as is well known, stated to be based on the reports made
by Pan Yung at the end of the reign of the emperor Nagan (A.D.
1 07- 1 25). This statement might lead to the conclusion that Yen-
kao-chen was still alive in 125 A.D. But it would not be safe to
rely on such an inference. It seems, however, to be supported by
the Khalatse inscription of the year 184, i.e. in my opinion A.D.
127. Dr. Banerji, p. 212 refers this date to “an old extra-Indian
Saka era.” Since he dates Wima Kadphises c. 5070 A.D. (p. 21 1),
the starting point of this era must have been about 1 15 B.C., and it
would be of interest to learn how our author wants to explain its
origin. I have not any doubt that we have to do with the same
reckoning as in the Sodasa inscription of the year 72, the Takht-i-
Bahi record of the year 103, etc., i.e. with the Vikrama era.
But then it is absolutely impossible to ascribe the foundation
of the Saka era of 78 A.D. to Kamska. Kamska must have entered
on the Indian stage at a subsequent period. And if the notice in
the Tibetan annals of Khotan has anything to do with him, it
would seem that his appearance was connected with a general Saka
rally, in which also the ruler of Khotan and other Central Asian
chiefs took part.
It is of course a mere guess that this was brought about by
rumours of the defeat of the Saka chiefs of India at the hand of the
Andhra king. But it is by no means unlikely. And a great Saka
expedition in Northern India would naturally react on the Sakas
of Malava. It would then not be a mere coincidence that the Saka
name of Castana’s father Ysamotika, cannot be traced with cer-
tainty before A.D. 130. Its introduction might very well be due to
I£ ' 2 Dr. Banerji on Sahas and Kusanas
the national feeling among all 3akas which found its expression in the
common undertaking in India. When Yen-kao-chen made his recon-
quest, he was content to establish a new era in the reconquered
country. But his governors had to live in India, and we can see
how Usavadata vied with the most orthodox Indian princes in reli-
gious zeal. And it would be nothing extraordinary for the first
Saka regent to translate his name into barbaric Sanskrit.
The Saka rally in Kaniska’s days brought a change". The Sakas
who had been overthrown by Satavahana, became conscious of their
nationality and strengthened by the activity of their kindred else-
where. Castana, whose own name seems to be Saka (cf. Pashto
castan master’), began to use the Saka form of his father’s name
and the territories wrested from Nahapana were retaken. But the
new suzerain did not leave India after his conquest, as did Wima
Kadphises, and no ksatrapa was placed in charge of the royal pre-
rogatives, the title ksaharata ceased to be used.
We have no sufficient reason for assuming that Kaniska had
the intention to introduce a new era. His records are dated in his
regnal years, as was the common practice in Chinese Turkestan
during the first centuries of our era, when the rulers also used the
same title devaputra which we know from Kaniska’s history. It
was only when the same reckoning was continued under his succes-
sors that we can speak of a Kaniska era.
It is not my intention in this place to repeat the arguments and
counter-arguments which have so often been adduced in the dis-
cussion of these problems. What I have \yritten above is only
intended to draw attention to some details which I think Dr.
Banerji has not sufficiently considered. And I should like to add
that we have every reason for being thankful to him' for giving us
such a full exposition of the reasons which have led him to his
results.
Sten Konow
Yavanaparipatl-Anukrama or PatrapraSasti
(A treatise by Dalapatiraya on forms of royal letters and orders)
The Govt. Mss. collection at the Bhandarkar Research
Institute, Poona, contains two Mss. 1 of a work called Yavanaparipati-
anukrama. It is a work composed by one Dalapatiraya for a prince
named Madbavasimha.
The work, as its name indicates, deals with forms of royal
letters and orders. It is divided into seven chapters as under : —
(1) (2) (3) (4)
(5) (6) ^RTTOf^rr^fk^riir and (7) TR^fafkiRiTr.
Analysis of' the work
The author starts with the description of his patron Madhava-
simha and the description of the Royal Court.
The second chapter deals with different forms of letters and
orders issued by the king. They are of three kinds viz. (i)
i.e. letters containing messages, (2) i.e. letters dealing
with everyday business and different kinds of deeds, and (3)
i.e. letters containing royal commands.
After specifying the three kinds of letters, the author proceeds
to describe in detail each of the three kinds of letters mentioned
above. Thus in the third chapter he describes the sandesapatra
or the letters containng royal messages despatched by the king to his
subordinate officers such as the minister, the commander of the
army, the organiser of the army, the superintendent of weapons,
the protector of the town, etc. Besides the royal messages, the
chapter mentions also other kinds of messages sent by people to one
another. Such letters contain news from a friend, invitation for a
marriage ceremony, a condolence letter and so on.
i No 409 of 1882-83 and No. 517 of 1891-95.
MARCH, 1938
20
154 Yavanaparipati-Anukrama or Patra-Prasasti
The fourth chapter describes various types of deeds and bonds
that are required to be executed by parties concerned in everyday
life. The different kinds of deeds mentioned in the chapter are : —
(1) wtw (2) (3) (4) ufafTqfr (3) (6)
asfaw (7) (8) srerrerprsT (9) w faro (10) (I I) sfgjr-
( 1 2) wrafaiTfflw ( 1 3 ) flWTnFnTsr i
The king is often required to issue orders to his officers. The
manner in which such orders are to be issued is described in chapter
five. These orders are written in Sanskrit according to the manner
prevalent among the Muhammedans. Some of the officers to whom
such orders are issued are : — The Dharmadbyaksa, the Nagara-
gauptika, the Simagauptika, the gramoddesika and the Sthapanika.
The sixth chapter deals with ordinary forms of letters written
by the king as well as by the people to one another. It mentions
how letters are to be addressed and the way of addressing a letter
differs in each individual case.
The last chapter is an important chapter for, it gives Sanskrit
eqivalents for Mahommedan political terms which were current at
the time when the present treatise was composed. I give below a
list of Sanskrit terms along with their Persian equivalents as given
by the author: —
Sanskrit
Persian
Sanskrit
Persian
9TUM, JFtf
snsfa
—
TfaR
Rk fJTRsf
STHTTfsT *ET
S3
grot
—
JTTfrTT
'BT
*55
Yavanaparipatl-Anukrama or Patra-Prasasti
faf*TTM
vRrft
—
fspprct
'RRtfRfi
starch
g^rff
sftf^rr ( ? )
5f?rf*R
jfajnfrjRT
7*prp ; w
jftrgsra
*rrt^
srwrmrc
gW3TJ5TTR
jrrs?
3?T5f«RF, ?WTT3
1wr(5r)5srRr
f%3RR
^rt^trt
if^RTRT
#jrr
3RR#3R3RftT
f'wrar
fRtfSRTRT
$£rtRT
*PRfNrT«rr, *RteT
—
^prtc-srt, ttM
Rsft^TRTRT
fa^RIWRT, 51*1^
^rfcT3MRT
tffcRRR
^trrr:
fltSIWRT
gn^RR
(=l^t^RT),
^URT
WTF
TIRTRT
^RRIRI
whir
nfRirateT
^WRT,
'RRTfa^RT
*mi
RRTRTfl'^7?:
ureter
fapTT ( * )
wwrtt
srer(*r)*?r, r%rt
^rsr^TTRT
'jfaBURT
*RRTRT. gt!WRT
3R?rren
*«RTRT
7RPERR
'TRPfiteFRT
^RWiR
FflfafiRR
^frfWTORT
Rtf^RRR
TRIRT^RT
%^TRTT
OTR1
gwrrc
fepfiiWRr
#*raRr
—
^ffirr gfw
rff^t^RTT
5^3
*rrar
wnt 2
Then follows a list of minor terms with their definitions and
Persian equivalents.
2 I am indebted to Mr. G. H. Kharc of B.I.S. Mandal, Poona for verifying
many of the Persian terms in the above list.
j 3 6
Yavanaparipaft-A nukrama or Patra-Prasasti
The author
The author of the work is one Dalapatiraya who seems to have
enjoyed the patronage of some prince named Madhavasimha. He
refers to his patron in the following passage : —
He further states that he composed his work at the instance
of Vrajabhusanasarma who appears to be bis preceptor: —
?qqTfa ?f^WT i
The date of the work
There is no direct evidence to prove the date of the composi-
tion. We have, therefore, to look to the internal evidence which
will enable us to determine its date with some reasonable certainty.
The author has recorded a date in two places. The passages which
contain this date are as follows : —
1 . i fadi
n ( fo1 - i 5 a of Ms - No - 4°9 of >882-83).
2. qrfN qgqmq qntqq sffiqq: in^vii
(Fol. lyb — ibid).
In these two passages the date mentioned is ‘Bhadrapada
month, Samvat 1820’ which corresponds to August 1764 A.D.
This date is meant, of course, to serve as an example, but since the
author has particularly used that date we may safely infer that he
must have composed his work in Samvat 1820 i.e. in A.D. 1764.
The patron of Dalapatiraya
For want of sufficient information it is not possible to identify
Madhavasimha, the patron of Dalapatiraya. Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar
is inclined to believe that “ Dalapatiraya’ s patron must have been
Savai Madhavarao or Hadhavaro II, of the Peshwa dynasty of
Poona ” 3 . His conclusion seems to have been based on the epithet
3 R. G. Bhandarkar: Report in Search of Sanskrit Mss. for 1882-83, p. 41.
Yavanaparipafi-Anukrama or Patra-Prasasti 157
‘Savai’ prefixed to the word Madhavasimha. Mr. P. K. Gode, on
the other hand, believes that “the word ‘simha’ has a Gujarati tinge
and therefore the patron of Dalapatiraya must be some Rajput
prince.’’ He is of opinion that flPrew? or the patron of
is identical with the patron of Pundarika Vitthala 1 .
I am, however, inclined to believe that *ITW^T? , the patron of
Dalapatiraya must be the Madhavasimha of Jaipur. The date of
Pundarika Vitthala and his patron Madhavasimha, is, as pointed out
by Mr. P. K. Gode, A.D. 1576'; while the date of the present
work, as pointed out above is A.D. 1764. The latter date harmonises
with the date of Madhavasimha of Jaipur, who reigned from A.D.
1750 to 1768. I am, therefore, of opinion that Madhavasimha, the
patron of Dalapatiraya is Madhavasimha, who belonged to the
illustrious line of Jaipur princes.
M. M. Patkar
4 P. K. Gode: " Date of Rdgamala of Pundarika Vitthala” published in the
B.O.R.l. Annals, Vol.XIlI, p. 340-
5 Ibid., p. 337.
Minor Old Brahmi Inscriptions in the Udayagiri
and Khandagiri Caves
[Revised Edition]
James Prinsep was the first to publish these inscriptions with
their translations in 1837 in c ^ e Journal of the Asiatic Society of
Bengal , Vol. VI. Prinsep’s transcripts and translations were subse-
quently reproduced verbatim by Raja Rajendra Lala Mitra in his
Antiquities of Orissa, Vol. II. Alexander Cunningham’s eye-
copies of these very inscriptions were published with their texts and
translations in the Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Old Series,
Vol. I. Pandit Bhagavan Lai Indraji’s edition of three of them
( Actes du Sixieme Congress International des Onentalistes, Part III,
Sec. II) was based upon eye-copies prepared by him. Hari Das
Dutta’s “inked impressions”, reproduced in the Epigraphia Indica
and also in the present edition, formed an important basis of R. D.
Banerji’s first systematic and annotated edition in the Epigraphia
Indica, Vol. XIII. In 1929- I published a critical edition of these
minor inscriptions along with the Hathigumpha inscription of
Kharavela in a book form 1 suggesting improvements in both read-
ing and interpretation. But as a result of further study, and con-
sideration of the subject, I cannot help publishing a revised edition,
which I trust, will go a long way to set the disputes at rest as re-
gards the reading, arrangement and interpretation of the epigraphs
concerned.
A. Inscription in the Udayagiri Caves
1 . Inscription of Kharavela s chief queen in the
Vaikunthapura Cave
[The Vaikunthapura Cave containing this inscription is no
other than the upper storey of the Manchapuri Cave which is situ-
i Old Brahmi Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, Calcutta
University publication.
Brahmt Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves *59
a ted in front and to the south-east of the Hathigumpha, and at a
short distance from the latter. The cave “was known as Svarga-
pura sometime ago.” Prinsep mentioned it simply as the
Vaikuntha Cave. The two storeys of the Manchapuri Cave “are
so arranged as not to rest directly one above the other, but the upper
recedes so as to have the top of the lower one open to form a terrace.”
The cave concerned comprises a suite of two inner chambers and a
pillared verandah. The inscription in question is incised on the
front wall of the cave, and it consists of three lines. An auspicious
symbol marks the beginning of the inscription. The record being
of the same age as the Hathigumpha inscription, and practically of
the same date, it may be risky to suggest with Banerji that its
characters “are slightly later than those of the Hathigumpha ins-
cription of Kharavcla.’ J
TEXT
Symbol — Arahamta-pasada(n)am 2 * 4 5 Ka!imga(na)m sa(m)an 5 nam lenam karitnm |, — |
raj i no Lalaka(s)a‘ ! [ 1 . 1 j Hathis(t)ha 1 -sampa(n)atasa r> dhu(t)una Kaliga-ca(kava-
tino siri-Khara)vclasa 1 1.2 ] aga-mahisi(n)a (k)a(r)itam |.] 1 1-3]
Trf%*TR ?URR [, — ] 't) f-
3PTOf?f?RT wfef I
TRANSLATION
The cave has been made for the Kalinga recluses of the
Arhata faith, — by the chief queen of His Graceful Majesty
2 Stcn Know, pasadaya, a dative form of pasada . Liidcrs contemplates a
similar reading when he renders it in English : “in honour of”. Banerji, pasadayam,
treating the word as a locative form of pasada , “in the temple or palace”, which
is out of the question. Cunningham and Indraji correctly read pasadanam. The
disputed letter is either na or pa } but never ya.
2 Whether Lalaka is the same epithet as Lalaka , Lalarka , or Loldrka is still
the question.
4 Banerji and others, Hathisaha. I think the * stroke is almost certain.
5 Banerji, Hathisahasa papotasa , for criticism, see Barua, Old Brahmt Inscrip-
tions , p. 56, f.n. 8.
160 Brahmt Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves
Kharavela, the overlord of Kalihga, the daughter of the high-souled
king Lala'ka Hatthisiha.
2. Inscription of Kudepa in the Patalapura Cave
[This record consisting of one line is incised in the verandah of
the Patalapura Cave representing as it does the lower storey of the
Manchapuri Cave corresponding to the upper storey separately
called Vaikunthapura. It is easy to divine that the donor of the
Patalapura Cave was the son and immediate successor of king
Kharavela, a son by his chief queen. The lack of exact correspon-
dence or symmetry between the upper and lower storeys may, per-
haps, be well accounted for by the hypothesis, that the lower storey
was excavated somewhat later, though, beyond doubt, during the
reign of Kudepa. In excavating this cave just below the Vaikuntha-
pura, the idea of king Kudepa evidently was to remain even in his
meritorious deed under the protective feet of his mother.]
TEXT
Airasa maharajasa Kalimgadhipatino Maha(megha)vaha(na)sa (t Kiidepa 6 7 -
sirino lenam f.]
^ T%*TTiW?Rt *TTf ifcf I
, TRANSLATION
The cave (which is an excavation) of His Graceful Majesty
Aira Kudepa of the Mahameghavahana dynasty, the great king, the
overlord of Kalihga.
6 I cannot but accept the reading Mabamegha ° suggested by Jayaswal.
7 Banerji wrongly reads Kudepa. I now reject the alternative reading
Kadampa. There is obviously no other letter between sa and ku to justify
Indraji’s reading of the king’s name as Vakadepa.
March , /93S
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From E L, vol. XIII.
Brahmi Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves 161
3. Inscription of Vadukha in the Yamapura Cave
[The Yamap ura Cave bearing Vadukha’s inscription forms
just a side-wing of the lower storey of the Mahchapuri Cave.
Prince Vadukha, the donor of this cave, appears to have been re-
lated to king Kudepa either as brother or as son, more probably as
son.]
TEXT
Kumaro s -Vadukhasa 8 9 lcnani [.]
TRANSLATION
The cave (which is an excavation) of Prince Vadukha.
4. Inscription of Bhuti in the Vyaghragumphd
[The Vyaghragumpha is a small cave which lies to the west of
the Hathigumpha and consists of a verandah and an inner chamber.
The record is incised on the outer side of the front wall of the inner
chamber and is written in characters that are precisely of the same
form and age as those of the inscriptions in the Manchapuri Cave.]
TEXT
Symbol — Nagara-akhadamsa [I. 1 [ —
sa Bhutino 10 lcnani [.] Symbol [I. 2]
8 Here Kumdro is just the first member of the compound Kumaro-V adukba.
9 I now reject altogether the second alternative Varikha suggested before.
10 Cunningham and Banerji agree with Prinsep and Rajendra Lala Mitra m
reading the name of the donor as Sabhuti (=Subhuti), which is far from correct.
Luders correctly reads it as Bhdti. Cf. Barua, Old Brahmi Inscriptions, p. 99 ’ ^' n ‘
a and 3.
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938 21
162 Brahm't Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves
TRANSLATION
The cave (which is an excavation) of the Town-judge 11
Bhuti.
5. Inscription of Kamma, Halakhina and Culakamma
in the Sarpagumpha
[The Sarpagumpha which lies close to the Hathigumpha
and almost in front of the Vyaghragumpha is also a small cave con-
sisting of an open verandah and a single inner chamber. On the
outer side of the front wall of the inner chamber and over its door-
way is incised, to the left, the inscription of Kamma and Hala-
khina, and to the right, the inscription of Culakamma, the two
inscriptions forming together a single record of piety. Unfortu-
nately the two inscriptions have so far been treated separately
without any reference to their inter-connection and unity.]
TEXT
(a) Kammasa Halakhi — [I. ij
naya 12 ca pasado [I. 2]
(b) Culakamasa kothajeya ca [.]
=sr 1
TRANSLATION
The verandah (of the cave is an excavation) of Karma and
Slaksna, 1 ’ and the impregnable inner chamber (is an excavation) of
Ksudrakarma. 14
11 Nagara-akhadamsa is undoubtedly the same official designation as Nagala -
vtyohalaka of Asoka’s S.R.E., and Nagarika of the Arthasastra, Bk. II, ch. 36, Bk.
IV, ch. 6.
12 Liiders doubtfully reads Haraktna. I now accept Banerji’s reading as a
perfectly correct one.
13 Credit is due to F. W. Thomas for the equation of Halakhina with
£laksna. Cf. Sakhina in Asoka’s S.R.E. II.
14 It is evident from the record that Karma and Slaksnil who jointly donated
the pasada or front portion of the cave were husband and wife, and Ksudrakarnia
who donated the inner chamber was Karma’s younger brother*
Brahmi Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandlagiri Caves 163
6 . Inscription of CHlakamma in the Pavanagumpha
[The Pavanagumpha containing this inscription is otherwise
called Haridasagumpha. It lies immediately to the north of the
Hathigumpha. The inscription which consists of a single line is
incised ‘over one of the three main entrances to the main chamber
of the cave from the verandah.’ In the opinion of Banerji, “the
characters belong to the first century B.C. and are distinctly later
in form than those of the Manchapuri inscriptions.” But I do not
think that any appreciable interval of time may be reasonably sup-
posed to have elapsed between the Manchapuri inscriptions and that
in the Pavanagumpha. Cfdakamma, the donor of the cave,
appears to have been the same person as the joint donor of the
Sarpagumpha.]
TEXT
Culakamasa pasato 1 *’ kothaje(ya) ca [.]
'TSTcft ^ I
TRANSLATION
The verandah and the impregnable inner chambers (of tjie cave
are excavations) of Ksudrakarma.
7. Inscription of Alahamada, Bari y a and Nakiya in
Jambesvara Cave
[The record is incised on the outer side of the front wall of the
inner chamber of the cave. Judged by its paleography, the inscrip-
tion may be regarded as of the same age as the Manchapuri
inscriptions.]
TEXT
Mahamadasa Bariyaya Nakiyasa lcna[m] [.]
1
15 Evidently scribe’s mistake for fasadq.
164 Brahmi. Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves
TRANSLATION
The cave (which is an excavation) of Mahamada, 10 Bairiya 17 and
Nakiya. 1 *
8 . Inscription in the Chota Hathigumpha
[“The record”, says Banerji, “consists of a single line, very
much mutilated, on the outer face of the tympanum of the arch
over the doorway”. Its characters are unmistakably later in age
than those of the remaining minor old Brahmi inscriptions.]
TEXT
(A)tasukha-pradina(ka)sa 19 lenam [.]
TRANSLATION
The cave (which is an excavation) of Atmasukhapradata(P).
B. Inscriptions in the Khandagiri Caves
9. Inscription of Kusuma in the Tattvagumpha
[This “inscription”, says R. D. Banerji, “is the oldest of
the inscriptions in the Khandagiri Caves. Most of the caves on
the Udayagiri are ancient, as proved by their inscriptions; but, with
the exception of Tattvagumpha, No. 1, Tattvagumpha, No. 2 and
Anantagumpha, all other Khandagiri Caves appear to be mediaeval,
as the inscriptions in them are not earlier than the ninth or tenth
century A.D.]
16 I no longer think that mahamada may reasonably be construed as the same
official designation as mahamatta , Skt. mahamatra.
17 I have stated the reason why Bdriyd cannot be treated as a mistake for
bhariyaya. See my Old Brahmi Inscriptions , p. 105.
18 Obviously the cave was intended to be recorded as a joint excavation of
Mahamada, his wife Bariya and his son Nakiya.
19 The reading is doubtful. Banerji, reads, Agikha{f) sa.
/ H.Q., March y 1938 PI. HI
From El., vol. XIU.
Brahmi Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves 165
TEXT
Padamulikasa 20 Kusumasa 21 lcnani 22 [.]
TRANSLATION
The caves (that are excavations) of the personal attendant 21
Kusuma.
10. Inscription in the Anantagumpha
[This record is incised on ‘the architrave outside, between the
left antaz and the first pillar’. In its original form it consisted of six
letters only, while subsequently, at a later age, three letters came to
be added at the beginning, a fact which has escaped the notice of
Banerji. One must completely ignore four letters found incised on
the rock outside the verandah that represent at the most a mason’s
mark. According to Banerji, “there are three symbols, of which
a central one is the Brahmi letter ja, while the other two may
resemble, but are not, letters.” The letters are really four that
might be read as ra, (raj, ja, ja.]
TEXT
Dohada 21 Samananam lenam [.]
^JT |
TRANSLATION
The cave for the recluses. 2 ' 1
20 Padamfdika is not a place-name. It is evidently the same official designa-
tion as rajapadamultka mentioned in the Pali Asadisa-jataka. (Fausboll, No. 181)
and Sarabhanga-jataka. Fausboll, No. 522).
21 Banerji, Kusumasa, which may be allowed as quite correct.
22 Banerji, lena\m]phi . It is rather lenantkha than lena [m]phi.
23 Banerji takes padamfdika in the sense of a ‘menial’, lit. a “server of the
feet”. According to the Jataka usage, a padamfdika was a personal attendant of a
king, a body-guard.
24 The word is evidently a much later addition to the inscription, and, as
such, it must be left out of consideration.
25 Treating Dohada as an integral part of the inscription, Banerji translates it
as: “The cave of the monks of Dohada”.
1 66 Brabmt Inscriptions in the U day agiri and Khandagiri Caves
ii. Painted Inscription in the Tattvagumpha, No. i
[“The whole inscription”, says Banerji, “is written or painted
on the back wall of the inner chamber of the cave and on a prolonged
examination I found that in addition to a row of letters which I
cannot make out, it was a repetition of the Indian alphabet. Some
young monk had used the back wall of the cell as a copy book and
improved his knowledge of the alphabet by writing on it. The
characters belong to the first century B.C. or first century A.D.”
I have nothing to add to these fruitful observations but this that
the first row of letters, of which a few towards the end are still
legible, recorded the inscription proper.]
TEXT
riputasa (ka)yana [.]
... . T?TR M
Six rows of Brahmi alphabet below.
B. M. Barua
Medieval Indo-Persian Literature relating to Hindu Science
and Philosophy, 1000-1800 A.D.
A Bibliographical Survey
A relative survey of the Hindu and Muhammedan works on Literature, Philo-
sophy, Arts and Sciences is, perhaps, a prerequisite to a systematic study of their
intellectual co-operation during the medieval period of Indian history. Materials
for such a survey from the Muhammedan side are far from scarce; apart from
the enormous quantity of Persian manuscript literature covering nearly every
field of human thought in which Hindu influences may be traced, the number
of works admittedly translated or adapted from Hindu sources is not inconsider-
able. It is true that many such translations were due to Hindu scholars, but their
effect on the contemporary Muslim thought cannot be wholly ignored.
In the following few pages of the Index, which does not claim to be more
than an inventory, an attempt has been made to list all die known titles and versions
of such translations, adaptations, etc. in so far as they can be ascertained from die
catalogues of the different Mss. Libraries of die world. Attention has been con-
fined to India from 1000 to 1800 A.D., and works originating outside diat country
and period, will, therefore, not be found. One other limitation ought also to be
mendoned: the list is confined to Persian only, which accounts for the exclusion
of such well-luiown work on Hinduism as the Kitab-al-Hind of al-Biruni.
It may be worth while to sound a note of warning regarding the exactness of
diese Persian translations : it is futile to expect a close approximation to the original
text. The remarks of Sir William Jones, though severe, arc deservedly true.
“ my experience justifies me in pronouncing that the Mughals have no idea of
accurate translation, and give that name to a mixture of gloss and text with a
flimsy paraphrase of bodi; that they are wholly unable, yet always pretend, to
write Sanskrit words in Arabic letters; from the just severity of this censure
I except neither Abul Fazl nor his brother Faizi ” (Works, London, 1794,
vol. I, p. 422). It ought to be remembered, however, that such variations were
unavoidable so long as the text was in manuscript and subject to the copyist’s
manipulations.
The Arrangement
The Index is in two parts; Part I is confined to the actual translations of work
mentioned in the prefaces or titles, while Part II contains all the works professing
to be either independent treatises or compcndiums, of Hindu Science and ■
Philosophy.
Entires made under the translator or author are classified according to subject
and are arranged chronologically, undated and anonymous works being placed at the
end. Particulars not found in the work or copy described, but established from
other sources are given within square brackets*
1 68
AI edieval Indo-Persian Literature
To facilitate further investigation, location of one complete and correct, available
copy is given at the end of each entry; references to authorities are cited in the
case of entries, copies of which are not known.
Bio-bibliographical details about the translator or the compiler have been limited
to die dace and a brief note whenever important; fuller details are usually to be
found in the catalogues referred to. The same applies also to the original text,
although well-known authors are mentioned within curves.
In a few entries the names of the original Sanskrit works are not known nor are
they mentioned by the translator; a comparative study of the extant Sanskrit works
on the subject would have been helpful, but apart from the labour involved in this
search of doubtful utility, the remarks of Sir William Jones quoted above are
enough to discourage even the most patient investigator.
Ali: Cat. Pers. Mss. ASB.
Aumer
Bankipur
Bib. Lind.
Blochet.
Blochman: Ain
Bodleian
Browne: Camb. Cat.
Browne: Hand list
Buhar
List of abbreviations.
Catalogue of Arabic, Persian, Hindustani, Pushtu,
and Turkish manuscripts in the library of Asiatic
Society of Bengal, Calcutta 1837.
Die Persischen Handshriften der Hof und Staat-
bibliodiek in Miinchen J. Aumer, 18 66.
Catalogue of Arabic & Persian Mss. in the Oriental
Public Library at Bankipur. Prepared by Abdul
Muqtadir Calcutta 1908.
Hand list of Oriental Mss. Arabic, Persian and
Turkish, with introduction by M. Kerncy. Aberdeen
U. Press, 1898. (Library of Lindsay, J. L., 26th Earl
of Crawford.)
Catalogue des manuscripts persons, Bibliotheque
Nationale, par E. Blochet. Paris 1905.
The Ain-i-Akbari of Abul Fazl, cd. H. Bloch-
man, Calcutta, Asiatic Society of Bengal. (Biblio-
theca Indica series no. 52) 1848.
Catalogue of Persian, Turkish etc. Mss. in the
Bodleian Library, begun by Edward Sachau,
completed by H. Ethe. Oxford 1889.
A catalogue of Persian Mss. in the University of
Cambridge, by E. G. Browne. Cambridge 1896.
A hand list of Muhammedan Mss. in the library of
the University of Cambridge, by E. G. Browne*
Cambridge 1900.
Catalogue raisonne of the Buhar library : v. I Persian
Mss completed by A. Muqtadir. Calcutta 1921*
Badauni
Cat. Mejliss.
Cat. Pets. Meshed
Elliot
Ethe
I. O. Delhi
Ivanow
Ivanow : Curzon
Lee. Coll.
Litho.
Mehren
N. C.
N. D.
Ousley Coll. Pens.
Pertsch
Palmer
Sprenger
Medieval Indo-Persian Literature 169
Muntakhab al-Twarikh. Ed. Ahmad ‘Ali and
others. Calcutta, Asiatic Society of Bengal (Bibliotheca
lndica series no. 51) 1848.
Catalogue des manuscripts persans et arabes de la
Bibliothcque du Madgliss, par Y. Etessami,
Teheran 1933.
Vihrist Kttab-t-Kutubkhana Astanquds-i'Ridvl.
(Imam Rida Library, Meshed) 1345/1926.
History of India as told by its own historians, by
Henry M. Elliot, ed. J. Dowson, London 1867-77.
Catalogue of the persian Mss. in the India Office
Library, by H. Ethe. London 1903.
Hand list of the Mss. in the Delhi Collection,
(Not published)
Catalogue of Persian Mss. in the Asiatic Society of
Bengal, by W. Ivanow, Calcutta, 19 27.
Catalogue of Persian Mss. in Curzon Collection,
' Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, 1928.
OrientaJ Mss. purchased in Turkey (by John Lee);
a catalogue, London, 1840.
Lithographed.
Codices, pcrsici. turcici. hindustanici, veriique alii
Bibliothecae Regiae Hafniensis, cnumcrati et des-
cripti ab A. F. Mehren. Hafniac (Copenhagen) 1857.
No! Copyist mentioned.
No date.
Mss. Catalogue of several hundred Mss. works in various
oriental languages collected by Sir W. Ousley,
London, 1831.
Die Handschriften verzeichnisse der Koniglichen
Bibliotheken zu Berlin. Band iv, Persische Hands-
chriften, von W. Pertsch. Berlin 1888.
Catalogue of oriental Mss. in the library of King’s
College, Cambridge, by E. H. Palmer, London 1868.
In Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 1868, pp. 105-31.
A catalogue of the Arabic, Persian, Hindustani Mss.
in the libraries of the King of Oudh, by A. Sprenger.
V. I. Calcutta, 1854.
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938
22
170
Medieval Indo-Persian Literature
Stewart: Tipoo
A descriptive catalogue of the oriental library of the
late Tipoo Sultan of Mysore, by Charles Stewart.
Cambridge, 1809.
Rieu
Catalogue of Persian Mss. in the British Museum,
by C. Rieu. London, 1879. Supplement 1895.
Rehatsek
Catalogue of Arabic. Hindi. Persian, and Turkish
Mss. in the Mulla Firoz Library (at Bombay) compiled
by E. Rehatsek, Bombay 1873.
PART I
Drama
Prabodhacandrodayanataka. (Krsnadas Misra)
1. Banwali Das. Gulzar-j-HaL... 1662-3. Six parts, called Ghanmns.
Litho. Lucknow, “ Prabodhacandrodayanataka \ 1877.
History
Rajatarahgini. (Kalhana) #
2. Mulla Shah Muhammad, Shahabadi. Rajatarahgini. 1590. Ethe 508
n.c.n.d. Incomplete. Cf. Asiatic Researches, xv, p. 2, Elliot, v, p. 478.
3. ‘Abd-al-Qader, Budaoni. Rajatarahgini. (A revised text of Shahabadi’s
version). 999/ 1591. Rieu, Add. 24032. n.c.n.d. Incomplete; extracts from each
of the four supplementary parts.
4. Maulana ‘Imad al-Din. Rajatarahghii. Not extant, see Elliot, v, p. 478; also
Rieu, p. 230.
Jainism
Pancasata Gai. (Govindacarya)
5. Dilaram (of Bijapur). Pancasata Gai. (Persian commentary of the Sanskrit
version of the original Prakrt collection of 346 distichs). Rieu, Add. 25022. copied
i 79 6.
Karmakanda . (Ascribed to Nemicandracarya)
6. Dilaram (of Bijapur). Karmakanda. (Written for Gen. Claud Martin.)
Persian commentary of the original Prakrt text. 1796. Rieu* Add. 5022-ii. n.c.
1796.
Dharmasastra
7. Zain al-‘Abedin, Rasai. Tarjumah-i-Dharamsastra. 1773. (at the request of
Warren Hastings, from die original Skt., Compiled by a number of Hindu
Pandits.) Ethe 2717. n.c.n.d.
Medieval Indo-Persian Literature
8. ‘Ali Ibrahim Khan. Tarjumab-i-Dtb, that is Qasm (Oath). 1783. (for
Warren Hastings) Ethc 2003. n.c.n.d.
9. Anonymous. Tarjumah-i-Khuldsah-i-Dharmsdstra . n.d. Condensed para-
phrase of Skt. works on manners and customs. Ivanow; Curzon 687-ii. n.c.n.d.
Manusmrti
10. Anonymous. Tarjumah-i-Marwsankrit. (?). n.d. (at the request of Sir
William Jones). Pertsch 1082. n.c.n.d.
Mitaksara. (Vijnanesvara?)
11. Anonymous. Tarjumah-t-Mitaksara. n.d. Before 1729, reign ot
Muhammad Shah. Ivanow 1710. Pratap Rai. Shahjehanabad, 1729.
Mahdbharata
12. Naqib Khan, ‘Abd al-Qader, Budaom, Sultan Ahmad Thancswari and
Mulla Siri. Mababharat. 1587. Preface by Abu al-Fadl. Litho. “Mababharat
Farsi.’’ Adiparva to Dronaparva. 3 Pts. Lucknow. 1897-1900.
13. Shaikh Abu al-Faid, Faith. Mababharat. 997/1589. Elegant version of
no. 12. Bankipur 1449- n.c.n.d.
14. Tahir Muhammad b. ‘Imad al-Din, Shirazi. Mababharat. 1602-3.
Paraphrase. Rieu Or. 2016-ii. Sunam, 1724. *
15. Diira Shukoh. Mababharat. c. 1650. Not extant; Bankipur, xvi, p. 127.
16. Haji Rabi‘ ‘Anjab. Mababharat . Not extant; Rieu Add. 16727.
17. Anonymous. Viratparva. n.d. Rieu Add. 16873. ncn -d. Fragmentary.
Philosophy ; Brahmanic
Amrtakunda
18. Muhammad (of Gwalior). Bahr al-Hayat. n.d. (At the request of Husain b.
Muhammad Sarini, Husaini of Gwalior). Based on an earlier Arabic recension made
by an Assamese Brahmin named Kanama who embraced Islam during the reign of
‘Alii al-Din Khalji, c.1300 A.D. Ethe 2002. n.c.n.d.
19. Anonymous. Nuskhahd-Sarodh (chapter II of Bahr al-Haydt). Extracts.
Rieu Add. 5651. Garib Singh, Gori, 1757.
Ethics
20. Shaikh Abu al-Faid, Faidi. No title. On Conduct (Akblaq) translated
from Kaspat Rai (?) n.d. Bib. Lind. 628. n.c.n.d.
21. Anonymous. Tarjxmahd-karm Vipak. n.d. Dialogue between Bhrgu
Muni and king Bharata on the retributions of sin and rewards of piety after death.
Ivanow; Curzon 692-iii. n.c.n.d.
22. ‘Abdallah. Nasaib-i- Akblaq. n.d. Bodleian 1242. 1790.
1 7 2
Aledieval Indo-Persian Literature
Gnosticism
23. Kirpal Das. Muhn-i-Manfat. 1754. From the original of Sada Sco’s
Puthi Sarodi. Bankipur, xv, 1455. Author’s autographed copy, 1182/1768.
Cf. Sprcngcr, Oude Catalogue, p. 171, who mentions Vfunshi Ramjas Khatri,
Muhit as the translator of several Sanskrit works on Mysticism, namely (a) Muhit
ol-Haqaiq (b) Rluhlt al-Asrar (c) Gulshan-t - Mdrijat (d) Muhit al-Manfat , and
(e) Muhit-i-A'zam, but no reference to any existing copy is found anywhere.
Maya
24. Anonymous. A stab akr a git a. n.d. Dialogue between the sage Astabakra
and his disciple on the illusory nature of the world. Pertsrh 1077'iii. n.c. 1218/1803.
Vedanta
Jogavasistha
25. Anonymous. Jogavasistha 1597-8- (At the order of Akbar) abridged
version. Rieu Add. 563 7. n.c. 1784.
26. Sufi Sharif, Qubjahani. Jogavasistha. (Also known as Kashf al-Kanuz,
Atwar dar Hall-t-Asrar nd.; dedicated to Jahangir, 1605- 1627. Litho. Lucknow,
1788. 1 16 pp. In Rlajmuah-i-Rasad with the title Risalah Atwar etc.
27. Nizami Panipati. Jogavasistha. 1663. Ali : Cat. Pets. Mss. ASB no
E. 46. n.c.n.d.
28. Habibullah. Jogavasistha n.d.; under the direction of Data Shukoh ,
(1656 A.D.). Ethe 927. n.c. 1727.
29. Anonymous. Tarjumah-i-fogavasistha. n.d. From the abridged version
of Pandit Anandan Kashmiri. Browne, Handbook p. 363, Palmer, no. 128.
Copied at Shahjahanabad 1766. n.c,
30. Mir Abu al-Qasem, Qandarsi, Astarabadi. Kitab Muntakhab-i-Jog. n.d.
Cat. Mejliss Lib, Teheran, no. 640-xvii. p. 40 n.c.n.d.
Upanisads
31. Dara Shukoh. Strr-t-Akbar. (Abo called Sirr al-Asrar), 1657. In two parts;
90 Upanisacls , with glossary of Skt. terms. Etlic 1967. Hidayatullah. 1782.
* Puranas
Bhagavata
32. Anonymous. Bhagavata Puran n.d. According to Ethe No. 1952 copied in
the viiith century A. H. (xxi century A.D.) Aumcr 350. (p. 140) n.c. n.d.
33. Tahir Muhammad b. ‘Imad al-Din Bakhsli b. Sultan ‘All, Shirazi. Bhagwat
Purana. n.d. At the request bf Akbar, c. 1590. Extracts; 9 Fasls called Avataras.
Ethe 1955. n.c. 1795.
Medieval Indo-Persian Literature
l l 3
34. Gopal b. Satri (Sri Govinda). Sri Bhagwat. n.d. His translation of the
Rdmdyana is dated 1683; see no. 53. Blochet 223. n.c. 1723.
35. Anonymous. Sri Ktlab Bbagwat Dasam. n.d. X Skandhit, legend ot
Krsna’s life. Aumcr 351 (p. 140) Folios 92-319. n.c. Gwalior 1080-82/1669-71.
Brahmavawarta
36. Kisan Singh, Nhsli at Ain al-Aahiir. Adhyayas Ethc ufii. n.c.
1782.
Hanvamsa
37. Anonymous, (Possibly the work of Mulla Sheri at the order of Akbar, see
Blochmann : Ain, i, p. 106). Hartbans Pur an . n.d. Ethc 1 95 1 - Ktsancand.
Ahmcdabad 1723.
38. Tahir Muhammad h. Tmad al-Din Bakhas b. Sultan *Ali Shirazi. Acarya
Parva 1602-3 the request of Akbar. Abridged translation Ethc 1935-111. 1 759’ nc -
39. Dara Shukoh (1), Hartbans Purdn.nA.\ (See no. 28 above.) All. Cat.
Pers. Mss. ASB. no. Oa 51. n.c.n.d.
40. Anonymous. Harambanst (?). Sayings of the Sage Vaisampayana to King
Khaica (?). n.d. Cat (Pers.) Lib. at Meshed, iii, p. 103, n. 91 n.c.n.d.
Padma
41. Anonymous. No title. Story of Rama and his ancestors, n.d. Fragmentary
Rich Or. 1122. n.c.n.d.
Siva
42 Kisan Singh Nishat. Siva Parana* n.d.; (see no. 36 above), 74 adhyaya s,
Ethc 1958. n.c. 1689.
Skanda
43. Kisan Singh, Nishat. Pahca Krcsr a part of Kast Aiahatmya. n.d., (See
above). Rich : Egerton 1028-ii. n.c.n.d.
44 Anandaghana, Khush. Babr al-Najat. n.d , (C. 1790; see no. 43 below) 5
Books. Ethc 1959. Bholanatli, 1792-4.
Vayu
45. Anandaghana, Khush. Gaya Mahatmya , Section relating to the holy
sanctuary at Gaya. 1791* Ethc 1962. 1 79 1 . n.c.
Visnn
46. Anonymous. Hikayat-i-Sri Vismt Parana n.d. Bodleian 1318, n.c.n.d.
(Another defective copy of the same.., Bodleian 1319.., was copied in 1795).
*74
Medieval Indo-Persian Literature
47. Anonymous. No title. Story of King Sagar and Rsi Aurva. (Book iv of
Visnu Purana). Rieu Or 1122, n.c.n.d.
Ramayana
48. Naqib Khan, ‘Abd al-Qadcr Budaoni and Sultan Thancswari. [Ramayana].
Completed in 994/1585, at the order of Akbar. Not extant; see Blochman, Ain.,
p. 105; also Bodleian, no. 1315.
49. ‘Abd al-Qadcr Budaoni (?). I Ramayana. 999/1590. Abridged version of
no. 48 above. See Elliot, v, p. 539. Rein Or. 1248. n.c. 1710.
50. Girdhar Das. | Ramayana.] n.d.; Dedicated to Jehangir, 1605-1627.
Abridged, in verse. Ethe 1965. n.c. 1723, Cf. Stewart: Tippo, p. 74 no. Cv.
51. Shaikh Sa'dallah Masih, also called Masih i Kairanawi Panipati. Tarjnmah -
Ramayana, also named Ram and Sita. n.d.; dedicated to Jehangir, see above.
Litho Ramayati-i-Masihh * Lucknow, 1899. 329 pp.
52. Candrabhan, «on of Sriram. Ramayana n.d. (C 1686). Abridged. Ethe
1964. n.c. 1696.
53. Gopal b. Sri Govinda. f Ramayana] 1683. 173 adhyayas. Blochet 222. n.c.
1776.
54. Anandaghana of Benares. | Ramayana] n.d.; (C 1791; see nos. 44 and 415
above). Six Kandas (Books). Ethe 2926. n.c. 1 79 1 -
55. Ranjit Rai, son of Ramdas | Ramayana] n.d. I.O. Accessions (Pers. Mss )
no. 3837. (Uncatalogued).
56. Anonymous. | Ramayana ] n.d. Versified. Ousley Collection, no. 74, also
mentioned in Rieu, vol. I, p. 57, Or. 1251. (Untraced).
Romances, Tales, Fables etc.
Hitopadesa
57. Taj al'Din Mufti (also known as Taj-i-MaMli, 7aj-i-Mufti al-Maliki Taj al-
Gani, Taj al-Din b. M11 ‘in al-Din Maliki, Taj al-Din Mufti al-Maliki). Ain fat rah
al-QnlUb. n.d.; dedicated to Malik Nasir al-Din (?), Malik Nasir al-Din Qubacha,
died 1228. Litho. Mufarrab al-Qtiliib . Lucknow 1869. 78 pp.
58. Anonymous. [ Hitopadesa .] n.d. Abridged version of no. 57 above. Ethe
1986. Syed Makhdum al-Husaini, 1867.
Kathasaritsagara
59. Abu al-Faid, Faidi (?). Kathasaritsagara. n.d. sec no. 13 above. Ethe 1987.
n.c.n.d. Fragmentary, ii-ix Tarahgas.
60. Rupnarain Khatri. Tar^umah^i-Kathasarit (sic), n.d. I. O. (Per. Mss. Delhi
Collection, no. 993. n.c. 1763.
Medieval Indo-Persian Literature
175
Nala Damayanti (Episode of the Mahdbharata).
61. Abu al-Faid, Faidi. Nai Daman, n.d.; see no. 13 above,, versified (Copied
166, Buhar no. 396). Litlio. (a). Nal Daman-i-Faidt, Calcutta 1831. (b). Nal
Daman-i-F aidi. Lucknow 1843. ( c ) ^ alt P nntc ^ 111 Spiegel’s Crest omathia Persica,
Leipzig 1846. Pp. 13 1- 130.
Padmavati
62. Malik Muhammad Jaisi. Tuhfat al-Qjdub . n.d. C. 947/1540. (For a notice
of the author and his works, sec Garcin de Tassy li. p. 97). Blochet 232. ‘Abd al-
Makim, Jehangirnagar 1679. The actual version of Jaisfs prose translation is not
extant, but this recension by an anonymous author is based on it. Jaisi is better
known for his Hindi poetical version of the romance.
63. ‘Abd al-Shukur, Munawwar, Bazmi. 1028/1658, versified. Litho Padmavat
Farsi. Lucknow 1871. 69 pp.
64. ‘Aqil Khan Raddi. Shamah wa Parwanah 1069/1685. Versified, Alathnawi
Sprenger, p. 543, no. 469. (Untraced).
65. Husain Chisti, Gaznawi. [Padmauati. J n.d. Stewart: Tipoo p. 73, no. xcv
n c.n d.
66. Husam al-Din. Fltisn wa ‘ Ishq 1660. Versified. Pcrtsch 955. n.c.n.d.
Siikasaptati
67. Diva al-Din Nakhshabi. Tfiti Namah. 730/1330. 52 stones. Pcrtsch
1027. Mulla Bahadur, Kol 994/1586.
68. Abu al-Fadl. Tfiti Namah . n.d.; see no. 12 above. For Akbar. Rieu Add.
I0589. n.c.n.d.
69. Muhammad Khudavand, Qaderi. Tfiti Namah. n.c.; 17th century. Abridged
version. Ed. F. Gladwin, with an English translation, “ Tales of a Parrot ”. London,
1800. 170 pp. (Diya Nakhshabi, no. 67 above, in his preface mentions an
earlier Persian translation of the Srlbasaptati. Another version is indicated by Haji
Khalifa, iv, p. 172.).
Vatns Stmhasana (or Vikramacarita)
70. ‘Abd al-Qadcr, Budaoni. Khsrad Afzd. 1574-5. Prose and verse. Not
extant, but see below, no. 71.
71. ‘Abd al-Qadcr Budaoni. Khirad Afza. 1594-5. An abritlged edition ot
no. 70 above. Not extant, but both mentioned in Budaoni, i, p. 67; sec also Elliot,
v, p. 513.
72. Caturbhujdas b. Mihircand Kdyaih. Shahnamah or Singh asan Vattisi nd.;
during the reign of Akbar, 1556-1605. Bodleian 1324. n.c.n.d.
73. Beharimal b. Rajmal Khatri. Stnghdsan Vattisi. C 1610: during the reign
of Jehangir. Ethe 1988. n.c. Lucknow 1780.
Medieval Indo-Persian Literature
176
74. Kishandas b. Mulukcand, Tamboli. Kish an Vilas. 1620. during the reign
of Jehangir. Pertsch 1087. n.c.n.d.
75. Ibn Harkaran, also known as Bishab Rai b. Harigarbdas Kayath. Singhasan
Vattisi. n.d.; during the reign of Shahjahan, 1627-58. Rieu Add. 6597. n.c. 1782.
76. Cand b. Madhuram. Singhasan Vattisi. n.d. Mehrcn, p. 29. no. Lxxx.
n.c.n.d.
77. Anonymous. Vattis Singhasan. n.d. Versified. Browne no. 773 (Corpus 106).
n.c.n.d.
78. Anonymous. Qissah-i-Vikramjit. n.d. Ethc 1991. Defective, but in places
has fuller details and the text differs from any other known version of the work.
Vetala Pahcavimsati
79. Anonymous. Badai al-U qiil. 1671-2. Palmer no. 61. n.c. 1783-4.
80. Anonymous, Betal Pacisi. n.d. Browne : Suppl. no. 207 (Corpus 69). n.c.
Lucknow 1846.
81. Beharimal b. Rajmal Khatri, Afsanah Namah-i-Rajah Bhoj. n.d. Stories
from the life of king Bhoja, on a similar plan as in the Singhasan Vattisi. The name
of the author does not appear in the work, but he refers to it in his translation of
the Vatris Singhasana , no. 73 above. Rehatsek, p. 217, no. 7. n.c.n.d.
82. Anonymous. No title n.d. Beginning with the fifth story of a collection of
moral tales; Sanskrit names given in Devanagari characters, and profusely illustrated
with fine drawings. Ethe 1994. n.c.n.d.
83. Anonymous. No title. “An Indian romance ; translated from Sanskrit ”
n.d. Ousley Mss. Cat., p. 23, no. 693. (Untraced)
Sciences
Astronomy. Brhat Samhita. [V arahamihira).
84. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Shams Bahai, Nuri (Shams Siraj ‘Afif). Tarjumah-i-Barahi.
n.d.; translated at the request of Firoz Shah Tuglaq, 1351-1388. Out of 104 Biibs
(chapters) in the original, 8 left out in the translation “on account of the idolatrous
matter contained in them.” Ethe 1997 n.c.n.d. (Probably the same referred to by
Elliot, v, p. 579).
Cosmogony
85. ' ‘Abd al-Rahman, Cisti. Mirat aPMakhluqat. 1041/1631. “Dialogue
between Mahadeva and Parvati,” handed down by Muni Vasistha.’ Rieu
Or. 1883-viii. n.c.n.d.
86. Zurawar Singh. Paramartha Prakasa. n.d.. at the request of Warren
Hastings. Browne: Camb. Cat. Add. 752. n.c. 1779.
Medieval Indo-Persian Literature
177
Divination, Magic and Occult Sciences
87. ‘Izz al-Din Khalid Khani. Dalatl-i-Firoz Sbahi. n.d.; during the reign of
Firoz Shah Tuglaq, 1351-1358. From a Sanskrit work found in the library of the
Rajah of Nagarkot, captured by Firoz Shah. Not extant; see Elliot, v, p. 573.
88. Anonymous. Ratan Mala , or Burhan al-lkhtirarat. 1000/1640. Astrolo-
gical work on the art of determining the lucky time. Rehatsek p. 23, no. 40.
n.c.n.d.
89. Muhammad Khan Abrului. Miftah al-Futuh. n.d. “On magic, containing
Cabbalistic formulae in Devanagari characters, probably from the Sanskrit work
named Devalokajyoti.” Ivanow, 1711. n.c.n.d.
Farriery. Salihotra
90. 'Abdallah b. Safi. Tarjumah-i-Salhotra. [1407; during the reign of Ahmad
BahmanL] Rieu Add. 14057-i. n.c.n.d. (Date of the translation found in another
copy, Stewart : Tipoo, p. 29).
91. Anonymous. Qurrat aLMuluk. 873/1468. | mistake for 883/1478.] at
the order of Mahmud Shah Khalji of Malwa, 1468-1500. Eleven Babs (chapters).
Rieu Or. 1697 . n.c. 1843.
92. Zain al-'Abedin b. Syed Abul Husain Hashemi. Faras Namah. 926/1519;
at the request of Muzaffar Shah of Gujrat, [1511-1526 . 1 Ed. Phillot, D.C. “Faras
Namah of Hasbemi.” Calcutta, 1910. vii, 116 pp. (Bibliotheca Indica, no. 191).
93. Syed ‘Abdallha Fiorz Jang, eel. (Actual translation by a number of anony-
mous Pandits). Faras Namah-i-Hindi } n.d.; during the reign of Shahjahan, [1627-
1658.] [‘Abdallah died in 1644-5.] two P jrts 5 5 2 chapters. Bodleian 1846.
n.c.n.d.
Mathematics
Lilavati (Bhaskaracarya)
94. Abul Faid Faidi. Lilavati. n.d.; at the order of Akbar, [1587.] Litho.
“ The Lilavati : a treatise on Arithmetic, translated into Persian from the Sanskrit
work of Bhaskaracarya, by the celebrated Faizi.” Calcutta 1827. 158 pp.
95. Muhammad Amin b. Shaikh Muhammad Sa‘id. Das tier al-Hisah : Tar -
juma-i-Lilavati. 1678. I.O. Delhi Coll. (Pers.) no. 1483. n.c.n.d. Uncatalogued.
Bijagamta (Bhaskaracarya)
96. ‘Ata r allah Rashidi b. Ahmad Nadir. Bijaganita. 1634-5. dedicated to
Shahjahan. Introduction and six topics, called Maqalah. Rieu 16869. n.c.
Shahjahanabad 1728.
97. Anonymous. Bijaganita. n.d. Palmer no. 50. n.c.n.d.
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938
2 3
178
Medieval Indo-Persian Literature
Music
Parijataka (Ahobala).
98. Mirza Raushan Zamir. Tarjumah-i-Parijataka. n.d.; [the translator was a
great musician during the reign of Aurangzib who died in 1705.] Ethe 2009. n.c.n.d.
Ragadarpana (Sanskrit original named Manktihal, written at Gwalior at
the desire of Mansingh, d. 1518).
99. Faqirallah. Ragadarpana darllm-i-Musiqi. 1665-6. Ethe 2017. n.c. 1782.
Sangita Darpana
100. Anonymous. Risalah dar ‘ llm-i-Musiqt . n.d. (sec also Ousley Oriental
Collections, i. p. 75). Bodleian 1852. n.c.n.d. Probably the same translation refer-
red to by Jones, Works, i, p. 422, and also by Mirza Khan b. Fakhr al-Din Muham-
mad, the author of Tub fat al-Hind (no. I Part II below) as being one of his
authorities for the section on Music.
Mirza Khan, in his work referred to above, also refers to Persian
translation of such work as Ragarnava, and Sabbavinoda. Sir Willi im Jones
mentions another work named Ragabibboda, which was found by Col. Pollier with
an interlinear Persian translation. Jones, Works, i, p. 422. None of these, however,
appear in any of the published catalogues.
Physiognomy
101. Muhammad Isma‘il. Samudrik Riksba. n.d. Bib. Lind. 728. n.c. 1837.
102. Balarao. Xarjumah-i-Puthi Samudrik. n.d. I.O. Delhi Coll. (Pers.) no. 1127.
n.c. 1909 (sic). Uncatalogued.
Sexology
103. Diya al-Din, Nakhshabi. ‘Ishrat aPMuluk. (also named Lhzat al-Nisa , see
Mehren, p. 15) n.d.. the translator was a well-known writer and died in 135Q, see no. 67
above). Bodleian. 1622. n.c. 1610.
104. Barid Shah Mahmud (?.) “of Bijapur”. (Qasim Barid, minister of Mahmud,
the Bahmani King of Bidar, 1482-1518?). Bbogbal. n.d. Sprenger, i, no. 637.
n.c.n.d.
105. Anonymous. Koknamab. n.d. Bodleian 1628-iii. n.c. 1825. Incomplete.
106. Muhammad Quli, JamL Kokasastra. 1036/1626. Versified. Rieu Add.
17489. n.c. 1797.
107. Anonymous. Risalah dar ‘Aurat. n.d. Bodleian 1626. n.c.n.d.
Vedas. Atharva Veda
to8. Haji Ibrahim Sarhindi. Atharva Veda, n.d.; at the request of Akbar,
c. 1600. Not extant, see Budaoni, ii, p. 212; also Blochmann, Ain, i, p. 105; Elliot,
y , p. 57I .
179
Medieval ' Indo-Persian Literature
PART II.
A Compendium of Hindu Arts and Sciences
1. Mirza Khan b. Fakhr al-din Muhammad. Tub fat al-Hind. n.d.; compiled
for the instruction of Jahandar Shah, grandson of Aurangzib and Emperor of India,
1712-13. (Rieu is inclined to place it before 1675). On the Arts and Sciences of
the Hindus : Introduction (Dibacha) and 7 chapters (Bab), on (a) Prosody (b) Rhymes
(c) Figures of Speech (Alamkdra) (d) Art of Love (Srhgdra) (e) Music (Sangita) (f)
Sexology (Koka) and (g) Physiognomy (Samudrtk). Conclusion (Khatima). Techni-
cal terms in Sanskrit. Palmer, p. 118, no. 119. n.c.n.d.
Law and Society
2. Kachari Singh. Tarjumab-i-Piithi Sanskrit (sic). [Not a translation of any
of the existing works on Law.] 1782. On “the rights and duties of mankind in
every sphere of life.” Pertsch, 1083. n.c.n.d.
3. Muhammad Husian, Qatil. Haft Tamdsha. n.d.; [the author died in 1817,
but wrote in the reign of S‘adat ‘AH Khan, King of Oudh, 1798-1814]. An account
of the different creeds and sects of the Hindus. 7 chapters. Rieu Or. 476. n.c. 1850.
Music
4. Anonymous. Guniat al-Muntat. 1374-5, during the reign of Firoz
Tuglaq, at the request of Ibrahim Husain Aburaja, Governor of Gujrat. 2 Qism
(Parts), 4 Bdbs (chapters), 18 Fasls (Sections). Ethe 2008. n.c.n.d.
5. Bakshawa. Rdgbdi Hindi . n.d.. the composer was a court-musician of
Bahadur Shah of Gujrat, [1526-37.]
Ed. anonymous; Sahasra Rasa (also. Hazdr Dhmpad, and Rdgamdld) at the order
of Shahjahan, 1624-58; containing the choicest Dhrupads of the composer, number-
ing 1000; preface; arranged in 4 Rdgas and 36 Rdginis . Ethe 2015. ‘Abd al-Rahman
Ahmedabad, 1656.
6. Hasan b. Khwaja Tahir b. Muhammad of Daulatabad. Misbdh al-Sariir.
1664. On the Music of the Hindus. 4 Bdbs (Chapters). Ivanow, 1629. n.c.n.d.
7. Anonymous. Shams al-Aswdt, 1698. On Indian Music. 6 Bdbs . Ethe
2022. n.c. 1782.
8 Raicand Ahmedabadi Usul-i-Gind . 1764. Buhar, i, 236-i. n.c.n.d.
9. Nahakar Das. Risdla-i-Rdgamala. 1774. Tract on the Ragas and Raginis.
Ethe 2018. n.c. 1779.
10. Hasan ‘All. Mufarrah al-Qttlub. 1785; at the order of Tipoo. “On the
Music of Mysore and different melodies.” 6 chapters and conclusion. Ethe 2024.
n.c.n.d.
11. Gulam Rida b. Muhammad. Usula al-Nugmat al-Asafi. n.d. composed for
a certain Wazir, named Asaf (?). On Indian melodies. Buhar, i, 235. n.c.n.d.
?8o Medieval Indo-Persian Literature
f
12. Anonymous (compiler) Kanz al-Musiqi. n.d.; dedicated to Muzaffar Khan (?).
Collection of Ragas and Raginis with their respective Dohras in Hindi, and a Persian
preface. Index. Ethe 2021. n.c.n.d.
13. Anonymous. Nad Parana n.d. Bib. Lind. no. 98.
14. Anonymous. Tracts. Ilham ai-Tarb. Munf'at al-Talebin . n.d. Ethe 2033.
n.c.n.d.
Philosophy
Yoga
15. Anonymous. Silsilah-i-Jogian n.d. On die various sects of the Yogis. Five
chapters on 5 Firqahs (Sects) and an appendix on the tenets of the Jogis. Ethe 2974.
n.c.n.d.
Pantheism
16. Waliram. (a) Kaya Topi ; (b) Ram Gita, (c) Mtsbah al-Hnda; (d) Sawal
Jawab-i-Lal Baba wa Dara Shukoh. n.d. Tracts on Hindu Mysticism. Palmer no.
14. n.c.n.d. (d) Lidio. Delhi. " Sawal Jawab-i-Lal Baba wa Dara Shukoh.”
1885.
17. Dara Shukoh. Majma ‘al-Bahrain. 1063 / 1654. Muslim Sufic Interpre-
tation of Hindu Pantheism. Ed. Mahfuz. al-Huq. “Majma ‘ al-Bahrain” . Calcutta,
Asiatic Society of Bengal. 1929.
18. Shaikh Abu al-Faid, Faidi. Shariq al-Ma arifat. n.d.;[c. 1590; see no. 94
Part I above.] Exposition of Vedantic teachings of Y ogava'sistha, Bhagavatgita and
Bhagavat Purana etc. Lith. “Shariq al-Ma rifat,” In ‘ Majmu db-i-Rasatl.” Lucknow
1877.
Sciences
Astronomy
19. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz. Najjum al-Hind wa Sariat-i'-Astarlab. n.d. On Indian
Astronomy and the construction of the Astrolobe. Two volumes. Stewart :
Tipoo, p. 103, no. viii. n.c.n.d.
20. Munshi Krparam. No title; n.d. [On the Astronomical and Geographical
systems of the Hindus, with mythological and historical legends.] Written for
.Warren Hastings. Ricu Add. 5654. n.d.n.c*
Divination , Magic and Occult Sciences
21. Anonymous. Pal Namab-i-Hindi. n.d. Lee Coll. (Pers.) Mss. p, 54*
no. 167,
Medieval Indo-Pemn literature
i8i
Medicine
22. Anonymous. ]dmi ' dl-Qwdnin-i-Hindi . n.d.; [but if the copyist’s date at the
colophon is correct, it should be placed in 1241 at the latest.] Encyclopaedia of
Indian Pharmacology. Introduction. Two Fann (subjects) and a Khatimab (conclu-
sion). Ivanow 1587. n.c. 639/1241 (?).
23. Bhuvah b. Khwas Khan. Mddan-i-Sbifa-i-Sikandar Sbahi. n.d. author
was a court physician of Sikandar Lodi, 1488-1517, to whom the work is dedicated.
Introduction, 3 chapters on Therapeutics, Anatomy and Diagnosis; 87 sections.
Litho.
(a) "Madan-i-Shifa-i-Stkandar Sbahi.” Lucknow 1877. 492 pp.
(b) Ibid., Lucknow 1889. 496 pp. Fol.
(c) Preface, with extracts, and a German translation, published by Haas,
in ZD MG.J vol. xxx, pp. 630-642.
24. Banya b. Hasan Hakim Hasan. Khulasah-i-Banydi.... 1588. Indian
Materia Mcdica. Ivanow 1549. Shiam Pcrshad, 1146/1733.
25. Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah, Ferishta. DastUr al-Atibya (also named
lkhtimt-i-Qasimi). n.d.; The author’s well-known history of India, Tarikh-i-
Ferishta, was completed in 1607. Introduction, 3 discourses ( Zikr ) and conclusion.
Ethe 2318. Shihab al-Din of Gauharpur, 1761.
26. Amanallah Khan, Zamani. DastUr al-Huniid. n.d.; [it is referred to in the
Tdltf-i-Sharif, no. 27 below, which was completed in 1173/1759.] Bib. Lind, no?
762. n.c.n.d.
27. Hakim Muhammad Sharif Khan. Tdlij-i-Sharif. n.d; dedicated to Shah
‘Alam, 1759-180 6. Indian Materia Medica. Litho.
(a) ‘‘Talij Sharif”. Delhi 1265/1848. Alfaz al-Adviyah.
(b) Ibid., Delhi 1280/1863. Ed. Gulam Rida Khan. 228 pp.
28. Anonymous. Mujamb al-Shtfa. n.d. A short account of Indian Medical
Science. Ivanow 1583. n.c.n.d.
A. B. M. Habibullah
REVIEWS
CONCEPTS OF BUDDHISM by Bimala Chum Law,
Ph.D., with a Foreword by the Marquess of Zetland, pp. xi, 103.
Amsterdam:. H. J. Paris, for the Kern Institute, 1937.
The Kern Institute, Leiden, which has already done much for
higher Indian studies has paid a high compliment to Dr. Bimala
Churn Law in publishing his monograph on the essential concepts
of Buddhism, and the Marquess of Zetland, whose interest in Indian
philosophical thought is fully attested by his own work, has borne
just testimony to the merits of the latest addition to his long series
of contributions to our knowledge. Dr. Law has once more followed
in his regular path; he has aimed at presenting us with a large mass
of material, carefully chosen, accurately interpreted, and skilfully
coordinated, bearing on the essential ideas of Buddhism as it
is presented to us especially in the Pali texts. It is not his aim to
present a sketch of the original philosophy of the Buddha or of his
history, but to clarify our understanding of the views which became
current in the philosophical circles whose discussions and results are
presented to us in the Pali Canon. The advantage of this procedure
is obvious. The original views of the Buddha are unquestionably
beyond our power to determine with any certainty, while we can by
careful examination of the texts achieve a very fair appreciation of
the views current among his followers or at least one important
branch among them.
On this basis Dr. Law adheres firmly to the actual assertions
of the texts. In discussing puggala he insists (p. 45) that the
Buddhists deny the transmigration of a soul:; rebirth is to be con-
ceived as kammasantati, or the continuity of an impulse, and the true
illustration of its operation is afforded by the mode in which one
lamp becomes lighted from another. How this view can be made
Reviews
183
consistent with the equally essential Karnmavada does not appear
from our texts, doubtless because the problem proved beyond logical
solution. The conception of Nibbana also in like manner was never
brought into really organic relation with the question of the self or
of action, or with that of causality. It is impossible for us to work
the ideas of the texts into an effective whole, probably because they
were never welded into a unity by the Buddha or his followers. We
can understand from Dr. Law’s citations and analysis the effect of
the dogmas, but not their interrelation. That is the reason why it
is possible for very different theories to be developed regarding the
essential principles of Buddhism and why Dhamma can mean one
thing for Mrs. Rhys Davids with her effort to recover traces in the
texts of an early doctrine of becoming, and something quite different
for Professor Stcherbatsky who would fain have us believe that the
conception of dharmas as elements of things is the basic conception
of Buddhism. A careful study of Dr. Law’s evidence will show
that in this form of Buddhism we are far removed from a compre-
hensive or consistent metaphysic of any kind. As a presentation of
Buddhist views as they were, as opposed to a reconstruction of what
they can be transformed into by the application of modern categories
of thought, Dr. Law’s work is of permanent value.
A. Berriedale Keith
BRHATTARA BHARATER POJA PARVAN: By
Swami Sadananda.
This booklet, together with the author’s Kamboja , marks a
very happy move towards popularizing in Bengali the knowledge
about the ancient Hindu culture still preserved in Indonesia. The
Swami, after tremendous labour in toiling practically unaided,
through French Indo-China and Dutch East Indies, gives in a lucid
style, a vivid description of the various systems of worship, rituals,
temples and other institutions of Java and Bali. Those cultural
Reviews
184
colonies of India should not only be visited by scholars but by our
religious preachers and Swami Sadananda is a pioneer in that sense.
His mission should be supported by national organisations so that he
may take a batch of promising students from our Indian Universities
who may study in detail, the magnificent architecture, sculpture,
iconography as well as the inscriptions, texts and other cultural
remains in Indonesia. Thus we may get regular and exhaustive
narratives, of those monuments, in our Indian vernaculars through
which the mass mind of India would be roused to adventure as in
the ancient days of Greater India. The booklets published by
Swami Sadananda are excellently printed with suitable illustrations
for which he deserves oiy: congratulations. These books should have
wide circulation in our various types of secondary schools. The
Swami is a great traveller and his personal touches in the nairative
are sure to create enthusiam among our rising generations.
Kalidas Nag
A GUIDE TO FATEHPUR SIKRI, edited by H. L.
Srivastava, M.A., Offg. Superintendent, Archaeological Survey.
Delhi: Manager of Publications iv + 77 pages. Front, viii
plates. Map.
Of all the existing medieval cities, Fatehpur is essentially the
product of one single mind, -and is, perhaps, the best written to
Akbar’s lofty imagination. For 17 years the imperial capital of
India, and then suddenly deserted, to be, in a few years, a vdst
wilderness of stone, it has a sad, almost tragic significance, equalled
only by Daulatabad, the deserted capital of yet another imaginative
.monarch, Muhammud ibn Tughlaq. But Daulatabad is no more,
and Fatehpur still stands in all its departed glory to compel wonder
and admiration of both the tourist and the archaeologist. The city
Reviews
is 5
deserves more than a popular monograph on it, and it is a pity that
except the voluminous and somewhat diffused Moghul Architecture
of Fatebpur Sikri of E. S. Smith, a railway guide and a few notices
by Keene, Latif, and Havell it has had none so far; for J. T. N’s
Ruins of Fatebpur Sikri, published in the fifties of the last century,
apart from its many inaccuracies, has been out of print these fifty
years.
From this undeserved neglect this handy volume has rescued it
and the author has more than earned our thanks. Within less than
a hundred pages, he has said everything that interests the ordinary
visitor and has done well to do no more than bait at the existence of
controversies where they occur. One of them centres on the build-
ing known as the Diwani Khas. Inspite of the literary evidences
against its identification with the ‘Ibadat Khdna, its peculiar cons-
truction leaves one unconvinced as to its suitability for a private
Hall of Audience; the absence of any positive literary evidence has
also to be noted. Another relates to the apartment ascribed to
Btrbal — one of the three existing non-royal residential buildings, the
other two being the houses of Abul Fadl and Faidi. The inclusion
of a photograph of one of these buildings in the otherwise well-
chosen series appended to the book would have been appreciated.
An Index would also have been welcome. ‘Grand Cathedral morgue’
is a little too involved an expression to denote a Jame s Masjid (p.
49); the choice of the phrase ‘against the revolted Uzbek nobles’
(p. 63) was not happy. These are, however, very minor points, and
can be easily improved upon in subsequent editions which this
excellently produced guide should undoubtedly have.
A. B. M. Habibullah
I.H.Q., MARCH, 1938
24
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
Acta Orientalia, Vol. XVI part 111
Kasten Ronnow. — Vedic Krivi. The significance of the term
Krivi and allied expressions occurring in the Rgvcda and the
later Samhitas has been discussed in this instalment of the
paper.
F B. }. Kuiper. — Indo-lranica. Of the twenty words to be dealt
with in this philological discourse, ahgand, astamana, adhrd and
end have found place in this issue of the Journal.
S'lEN Konow. — Kabul Museum Stone Inscription of the year $3.
A stone preserved in the Kabul Museum contains a Khorosthi
inscription of five lines in North-Western Prakrit. It re-
cords the excavation of a tank in the Malava-Vikrama year 83
corresponding to 23 A.C. during the time of Tiravharna, a
Ksatrapa of Puspapura.
Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, vol. XIX,
part 1. (October 1937)
Shankaracharya. — Influence of the Mahdbharata on Hindu Social
Life.
M. Hiriyanna. — The Indian Conception of Values.
S M. Katre. — The Formation of Kohkani.
P K. Gode. — Fragments of Poems pertaining to King Sambhu, son
of Shivaji.
K. S. Ramaswami Sastri: — Rdmdnujdcdrya , the Author of the
Ndyakaratna. The author under discussion, who is distinct
from the celebrated Ramanuja, the founder of the Visistadvaita
school of philosophy, has been assigned to the period ranging
from 1350 to 1575 A.C.
Rajendra Chandra Hazra. — Some Minor Purdnas. The dates
Select Contents of Oriental Journals 187
and contents of the Garuda and the Brahmavawarta Pur anas
have been discussed.
J C. Ghosh. — Note on Havana’s Lanka located in Central India.
In support of the theory that Ravana’s Lanka was located in
Central India, the writer adduces evidences to show that in
ancient times there existed on the border of Madhyadesa a
region called Lanka.
V. N. Gokhalh. — A Note on the Word Gopitha. Gopitha,
according to the writer of this Note, means ‘protection of
cows.
B. C. Law. — A lind in the Dhammapada.
P K. Godi:. — Appayadiksita’ s Criticism of Aryabhata’ s Theory of
the Diarnal Motion of the Earth.
Archiv Orientalni, IX. no. 3
) So.HROFl r. — Em Werk iiber die Philosophic der Sanskrit >
Grammatik .
Brahmavidya (Adyar Library Bulletin), vol. II. parti
C. Kl'NHAN Raja. — Rgveda-vydkhya. The editing of Madhava s
commentary on the Rgveda continues.
S. SuBRAHMANYA SaSTRI AND T. R. SRINIVASA AlYANGAR. — Yoga
Upanisads. The Tnstkhibrdhmanopanisad and the Darsano-
panisad, two short treatises dealing with Yoga have been trans-
lated into English in this instalment.
C. Kunhan Raja. — Sdmavedasamhita. An edition of the Samhitd
with the commentaries of Madhava and Bharatasvamin begins
with this issue of the Journal.
N. Aiyaswami Sastri. — Tibetan Versions of the Bhavasamkranti
Sutra and Naoariunas Bhavasamkrantisdstra with the com-
£> ’
mentary of Alaitreyanatba.
1 88 Select Contents of Oriental Journals
Bulletin of the School of Oriental studies, vol. IX, part 2
H. W. Bailey. — Indo-Turcica. The transcribed text of a Turkish
fragment in Brahmi script together with its Sanskrit version has
been published, and a glossary of Turkish words with Sanskrit
equivalents furnished in this Note.
L. D. Barnett. — Satavahana and Satakarni. A study of the two
expressions along with their cognate forms shows that they are
not borrowings from Munda and Sata is a proper name, harm
signifying a ‘son.’
Dacca University Studies, vol 11, no. 1 (April, 1037)
Benoy Gopal Roy. — Bosanquct compared with Bradley and
Sankara.
Aiit Kumar Sen. — Background of Hindu Political Thought. The
object of the writer is to show that the V arnasrama institution
and the concept of dharma are vitally connected with the poli-
tical concepts of the Hindus.
Pramode Lal Paul. — Administrative System in Bengal during the
Pala and Sena periods. This is an account of the system of ad-
ministration prevailing in Bengal during the Pala and Sena
rules. It deals with the government in the metropolis and the
towns, the employment of ambassadors and messengers, the
organisation of the guilds, the collection and expenditure of
revenues and the military, the police and the judiciary.
Indian Culture, vol. IV, no. 3 (January 1938)
O. Stein. — India between the Cultures. The contact of India with
the West on the one hand and the East on the other has been
traced black to early times, along with a reference to the im-
portant results which have issued from the contact.
Sri Rama SarmA. — Jahangir’s Religious Policy. Jahangir in his re-
ligious policy continued on the whole Akbar’s toleration but a
Select Contents of Oriental Journals 189
departure from the wide outlook of his father commenced in
his time.
Sushil K. Bose. — Studies in Gupta Paleography.
Journal of the Annamalai University, vol. VII, no. 2 (March 19B8)
S S. Bharati. — Some Facts and Fables about Karikalan the Great.
Legends relating to the attainments of king Karikalan of the
Chola dynasty are discussed in the paper.
A. Chidambaranatha Chettiar. The Passive Voice in Tamil.
B. N. Krishnamurti Sarma. — Vijayindra Tirtha. This is an
account of the life and works of Vijayindra, a writer of the 1 6th
century and a follower of the dualistic Vedanta system of
Madhvacarya.
— . — Post-Jayatirtha writers.
Ramanujachari and S. Srinivasachari. — Suldhitraya. The avail-
able portion of the 7 svarastddhi of Yamunacarya on the exis-
tence of God is published in this issue of the Journal with
English translation and Notes.
— . — Nyayakultsa. This instalment contains a Sanskrit
Introduction to Ramanujacarya’s Nyayakulisa already published
in the previous issues of the Journal.
— . — Nitimala. This Vedantic work of Narayanarya is
being edited.
Journal of the Benares Hindu University, vol. II, no. I
H. Hi :aks. — The Story of Two Alohenjo Daro Signs. Two signs
found in the Mohenjo Daro inscriptions have been compared
with the signs of the proto-Chinese and the Hittite scripts, and
their transformations discussed. The course of development of
these signs settles according to the writer the priority of the
Mohenjo Daro script over the proto-Chinese and the Hittite
scripts.
190
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
— • — The Origin of the Mohenjo Darians. The writer in-
clines to the view that the people of Mohenjo Daro were Dravi-
dians, and criticises Dr. Pran Nath’s opinion.
V. Raghavan. — The Dcvicandragupta. The contents of the
drama Devicandragupta which depicts the life of Candragupta
II have been analysed in the light of historical evidences which
suggest that Candragupta killed his elder brother Ramagupta
and married his wife. The author of the drama is conjectured
to have been Visakhadeva identified with Visakhadatta, the
author of the Mudraraksasa.
R. Ramanujachari. — God and the Cosmos. The views as found
in the Vedantic works regarding the relation between the
Supreme Being and the world have been discussed.
N. S. Ramaswami Aiyar. — Samagana. The rules as to how the
Sanaa hymns are to be set to music are interpreted.
Rhagwat Saran Upadhya. — Social India as depicted by Kalidasa.
The topics discussed in the paper include the following: — the
structure of the society, Samskaras, marriage with its different
forms, and the customs associated with them, tlae position of
the wife and the son in the society, the widow and her self-
immolation after the death of her husband, the Purdah system
and the items of food and drink used by the people.
Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society, vol. XXIU, part iv
(Decomber, 1937)
S TEN Konow. — The D evica n drag up ta and its Author. The writer
of the note is of opinion that Visakhadatta, the author of the
drama Devicandragupta, was a contemporary of Candragupta
II, whose exploits have been made a theme of the drama.
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. — The Pilgrim’s Way. Five verses
from the Aitareya Brahmana exhorting Rohita to travel have
been translated into English with notes and comments.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
191
H. Hears. — A Proto-Indian Icon. A block of black stone roughly
carved into human shape with four inscriptions incised into the
lower part of the image has been described. The characters
used in the inscriptions are of the Mohcnjo Daro type which
have been read as containing references to a king bearing the
royal title of Mohcnjo Daro. The end of the fifth millennium
B.C. has been suggested as the probable date of this statue.
Hirananda Sastri. — Devanagari and the Muhammadan Rulers of
India. Evidences have been put forward to show that Muham-
madan rulers of various dynasties that governed India were in
favour of using the script of Devanagari.
A. Bant.RJI-Sas i ri. — Suhga Sculpture from a Patna Mosque. The
sculpture inferred to have been of the Sunga period represents
two lovers under a tree. It may be a panel relating to the life
of the Sunga kino Agninutra who was in love with Malavika
as described in Kalidasa's drama Alalavikagmmitra.
K. P. Jayaswal and Rahula Sankrhyayana. — Adhyardhasataka.
The Sanskrit Buddhist work containing hymns of 150 stanzas
by Matrceta who was an older contemporary of Kaniska has
been edited here with an Introduction.
Journal of Indian History, vol. XVI. part 111
H. Hf RAS. — The Longest Alohenjo Daro Epigraph. The inscrip-
tion under review contains twenty-five signs which, the writer
thinks, have been deciphered by him.
£), S. Triveda. — Five Thousand Years Ago— the Aiahabharata
War. The conclusion reached in the paper is that the Maha-
bharata war was fought in 3 1 37
Ananda K. Coomaraswami. — ‘ Pantheism Indian and Neo-
Platonic.
Bisheswar Nath Reu. — The Early Rastrakutas of the Deccan and
the Present Mysore State.
IQ2
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
P. K. Gode. — References to a lost Work on the Patiganita of Sri-
dharacarya. Sridharacarya’s Trisatika supposes a larger work
on Patiganita by himself. Some references to that treatise are also
found in the works of Makkibhatta and Raghavabhatta from
which, it is gathered that the name of the work was Nava's ati
which consisted of 900 verses.
H. K. Sherwani. — Khwaja-i - Jahan Aiahmud Gawan s Campaigns
in the Maharastra .
•Abdul Aziz. — The Imperial Treasury of the Greater Alughals.
This instalment of the paper deals with the actual contents of
the jewel treasury from the invasion of Babur to that of Nadir
Shah.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, (January 19JS)
E. H. C. Walsh. — Notes on the Silver Punch-marked Coins in
the British Aduseum.
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. — Nirmana-kaya.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Letters vol. II, J936.
no. J Numismatic Supplement no. XLV1)
M. F. C. Martin. — Some Coins of the Napkt Alalka Class rc-
struck-hy Sahi-Tigin.
S. Singh Roy. — The Coins of Rajgir.
A. S. Altekar. — Two New Andhra Coins.
— . — Note on an alleged Coin of Rudrasena.
Ajit Ghose. — Notes on two Gupta Coins.
K. N. Dikshit. — A Gold Coin of Virasimha.
— . — A Note on the Bi-lingual coins of Sultan ATahmud of
Ghazni.
S. K. Chakraborti. — The Tribal Coins of Northern India.
R. G. Gyani. — Coinage of the Nizams of Hyderabad.
R. B. Whitehead. — The Coins of Nadir Shah and the Durrani
Dynasty.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
193
Shamsuddin Ahmed. — Note on a unique Copper com of Barbak
Shah.
Pryag Dayal. — Unpublished Mint marks on Awadh Coins.
H. E. Stapleton. — The Countless Amherst Collection of Assamese
Coins.
Muslim University Journal, vol. IV, no. 1 (July 1937)
Aziz Ahmad. — Sultan Qutbud-Din Aiybek. This is an esti-
mate of the achievements of Sultan Qutbud-Din who is regarded
as the founder of Muslim rule in India in the 13th century.
The topics^discussed in the paper include the Sultan’s character,
his early life and conquests.
Mohd. Habib. — lndo-Aluslim Mystics.
Shrine of Wisdom, vol. XIV, no. 74 (Winter Solstice, 1937)
The Laws of Alanu. — The English translation of the ist chapter
of the Manusamhita with comments and elucidations by the
editors of the Shrine of Wisdom continues.
X.H.Q., MARCH, 1938
*5
Bibliographical Notes
7 sur W ost-und Satszslung in der alt-und mittelindischen Prosa by
Jose Canedo. Gottingen 1 937.
Avast hatraya or the Unique Method of Vedanta by Y. Subrah-
manya Sarma. Bangalore 1937.
Chandoracana by M. T. Patwardhan. Bombay 1937.
Natyasastrasamiksa by T. K. Ramachandra Ayyar. Mylapore 1938.
Woolner Alemorial Number of the Indian Linguistics. Lahore
l 937-
Descriptive Catalogue of the Government Collections of Manuscripts
deposited at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute , vol.
XIV : Nataka compiled by P. K. Gode. Poona 1937.
Rdmayana of Kumudendu (pt. I, cantos 1-8) edited by K. G.
Kundanagar. Belgaum 1936.
Pamparamayanasamgraha edited by Tiruvallur Srinivasaraghavachar
and D. L. Narasimhachar. University of Mysore 1936.
Tolkappiyam (Ancient Tamil Grammar, vol. II, pt. 1) with a com-
mentary in English by P. S. Subrahmanya Sastri. Madras
* 937 -
Bhagavadgita edited on the basis of an old Ms. by Jivaram Kalidas
Sastri. Gondal (Kathiawar) 1937.
Ndtakalaksanaratnakosa of Sagaranandin edited by Myles Dillon,
vol. I: Text. Oxford 1937.
Teaching of Sri Madhva by P. Nagaraja Rao. Madras 1937*
An Eight Hundred year old Book cf Indian Aledicine and Formulas
translated from Hindi into English by Elizabeth Sharpe.
London 1937.
History of Telugu Language (2 vols.) by Narayana Rao. Andhra
University Series 1937.
Persian Sources of Indian History vol. II by Ganesh Hari Khare.
Poona 1937.
Bibliographical Notes 155
Sivacaritrasahitya (Materials for a Biography of Shivaji), vol. VI
edited by Ganesh Hari Khare. Poona 1937.
Mabapurusa of Puspadanta, vol, I edited by P. L, Vaidya. Poona
1937 •
Apabhramsa-Studien by Ludwig Alsdorf. Leipzig 1937.
Secrets of the Kaula Circle by Elizabeth Sharpe. London 1936.
T yagarajacarita by T. S. Sundaresa Sarma. Tanjore 1937.
ManodUta of V isnudasa edited by Chintaharan Chakravarti. Sans-
krit Sahitya Parishad. Calcutta 1937.
Story of Indian Civilisation by C.E.M. Joad. London 1 936.
Astangahrdayasamhita of Vagbhata (pt. 4) edited by Luise Hilgen-
burg and Willibald Kirfel. Leiden r 937-
W orterbucb zum Rgveda by Hermann Grassmann (Reprint).
Leipzig 1936.
Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms with Sanskrit and English
Equivalents compiled by William Edward Soothill and Lewis
Hodons. London 1937.
Assamese Grammar and Origin of the Assamese Language by
Kaliram Medhi. Gauhati 1936.
Therigatha edited by N. K. Bhagavat. Devanagari Pali Text
Series. Bombay 1936
Alajjhimanikaya (pt. I) edited by N. K. Bhagavat. Devanagari
Pali Text Series. Bombay 193 7.
Jaiminiyanayamala of Madhavacarya with his own commentary
N yayamalavis tara (part I : chapter 1-3) edited with Notes by
A. Ramanatha Sastri and Pattabhirama Sastri. Chowkhamba
Sanskrit Series. Benares 193 7.
Praudha Manorama of Bhattojidiksita with the gloss Laghusabda-
ratna and three commentaries edited by Gopal Sastri Nene
(part I) Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series. Benares 1937.
Laghusabdendusekhara of Nagesabhatta with commentary (vol. I)
196
Bibliographical Notes
edited by Sudama Misra Sastri and Sadasiva Sastri Joshi.
Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series. Benares 1938.
Satapatha Brahmana (Part I) edited by A. Chinnaswami Sastri and
Pattabhirama Sastri. Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series. Benares
* 937 -
Abhinayadarpana of Nandikesvara edited with Bengali translation
and Notes by Asokanath Sastri. Calcutta 1938.
Deux Lexiques Sanskrit-Chinois (tome II) by Prabodh Chandra
Bagchi : Publications de l’Universite de Calcutta. Paris 1 937-
Jha Commemoration Volume (55 papers in Sanskrit and English by
different scholars). Poona 1937.
Dictionary of Pali Proper Names , vol. I (A-Dh) compiled by G. P.
Malalasekera. Government of India. London 1937.
To Become or Not to Become (That is the Question) by Mrs.'C. A.
F. Rhys Davids. London 1937.
A Treatise on Buddhist Philosophy or Abhidhamma by C. L. A. De
Silva — Revised by Thera Narada. Colombo 1937.
Cultural Heritage of India (various papers in three volumes). Sri
Ramknshna Centenary Memorial. Calcutta 1937.
Iconography of Southern India (English translation of J. Dubriucl’s
Archaelogie due sud de L inde, Tome II : Iconographie ) by
A. C. Martin. Paris 1937.
Landmarks in Malayalam Literature by T. K. Krishna Menon
Cochin 1937.
Gautama Buddha by Iqbal Singh. London.
A Brief Glossary of Buddhist Terms (Revised edition). London
Geographical Essays by Bimala Churn Law (vol. I — Revised edition).
London.
Monographies Sanscrites (2pts : Decandence et disparition du sub-
jonctif. Sur le suffixe ‘Tu’ et la constitution des infinitifs) by
L. Renou. Paris.
Veda and Vedanta by E. P. Horrwitz. Calcutta.
Bibliographical Notes 197
Bibliographic Bouddhique, (Tome VII-VIII : May 1934 — May
1936) by various scholars. Paris 1937.
Altindische Dichtung und Weisheit Bearbeitet compiled by O.
Vogt. Wiesbaden 1937.
Studies in Tamil Literature (2nd ed.) by V. R. R. Dikshitar.
London 1937.
Brahma et Bauddha translated into French from the German
of Glasenapp by P. Pelliot. Paris 1 937.
Vaidikasvaraprakriyaprayogasmrtisuci by N. N. Misra. Benares
*937-
Mimamsanyayaprakasa of Apadeva edited by V. Abhyankar.
Poona 1937.
Siddhantalesasamgraha of Appayya Diksita (vol. II) edited by S. 5 .
Suryanarayana Sastri. Madras 1937.
Ra sendrasarasamgraha of Gopalakrsna edited with a commentary
by Ambikadatta Sastri. Benares 1937.
Tarkabhasa of Ke'savamisra with the commentary of Cinnambhatta
edited by D. R. Bhandarkar and Kedarnath. Poona 1937.
Srikarabhasya of Sripati (Virasaiva commentary on the Vedanta-
sutra) edited by C. Hayavadana Rao. 2 vols. Bangalore 1936.
Lagnavarahi of Varabamihira edited by }. K. K. Tripathi, Benares
x 937-
Saundaryalahan edited with a commentary and translated into
English by S. Subrahmanya Sastri. Madras 1937.
Jambusvamicarita and Adhyatmakamalamarlanda of Rajamalla
edited by Jagadish Chandra Sastri. Bombay 1936.
A Buddhist Chinese Text in Brahmi Script (V ajracchedika) edited
by F. W. Thomas. Leipzig 1937.
Suvarnabhasottamasutra edited by Johannes Nobel. Leipzig 1937.
Paramappapaydsa of Yogmdudeva (Apabhramsa text edited with
Sanskrit commentary and Hindi translation together with the
Yogasara ) by A. N. Upadhye. Bombay 1937.
Bibliographical Notes
198
Mystic Philosophy of the Upanisads by Sri Chandra Sen. Lucknow.
Cambridge History of India, vol. IV : The Mughal Period planned
by Wolsey Haig and edited by Richard Burn. Cambridge
I937 '
Bhdsa-ndtakacakra (Plays ascribed to Bhasa — Sanskrit Text) edited
with Introduction by C. R. Devadhara. Poona 1937.
Mahdvarga ( Vinaya Pitaka ) translated into Bengali by Prajriananda
Sthavira and edited by B. M. Barua. Calcutta 1937.
Lectures on the Bhagavadgita by D. S. Sarma. Rajahmundry 1937.
Wall-paintings of India, Central Asia and Ceylon (A Compara-
tive Study) by Benjamin Rowland. Boston 1937.
Oriental Literary Digest (Monthly Journal), vol. I, nos. 1-9 edited
by S. M. Katre. Poona 1937-38.
Concepts of Buddhism by Bimalachurns Law. London 1937.
Historie de la Philosophic: La Philosophic en Orient by Paul
Masson-Oursel. Paris 1938.
Annual Report of the Department of Archeology, Baroda State
1 93 5'3 6 by Hirananda Sastri. Baroda 1938.
Nadir Shah by L. Lockhart. London 1938.
Proceedings and Transactions of the Eighth All-India Oriental Con-
ference Mysore (1935)- Bangalore 193 7.
Indian and Western Philosophy : a study in contrast by B. Heimann.
London 1937.
Ndyakaratna of Ramanuja (a commentary on Parthasarathi Misra’s
Nyayaratnamdld) edited by K. S. Ramaswami Sastri. Gaek-
wad’s Oriental Series. Baroda 1937.
Ganitatilaka of Sripati with the commentary of Simhatilaka edited
by H. R. Kapadia. G. O. S. Baroda 1937.
Hamsavildsa of Hamsa Mitthu edited by Trivikrama Tirtha and
Hatbibhai Sastri. G. O. S. Baroda 1937.
i 9 9
Bibliographical Notes
Tattvasamgraha of Santaraksita with the commentary of Kamalasila
translated into English by Ganganatha Jha. G. O. S. Baroda
1937 •
Dharmakosa, vol. I published by Prajnapathasala Mandala. Satara
I 937‘
Early Samkhya by E. H. Jhonston. London 1937-
Archceology of Hindu Sumatra by F. M. Schnitger. Leiden 1937 -
Printed and published by J. C. Sarkhel, at the Calcutta Oriental
Press, Ltd., 9, Panchanan Ghose Lane, Calcutta.
Works by
Dr. NARENDRA NATH LAW, m.a., b.l’., p.r.s., ph.d.
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4 Aspects of Ancient Indian Polity (Clarendon Press, Oxford).
5 Inter-state Relations in Ancient India, Part I (out of Print).
6 Studies in Indian History and Culture Rs. 8/-
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15 Foundation of Indian Poetry by Dr. J. Nobel of the Preussiche
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For the first time it has been shown that the Brahma Sutras have their
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Cawnpore, with a Foreword by Dr. M. Winternitz.
(Demy 8vo. lii -h 1 00 pp.). ... ... Rs. 2
It shows that Kalidasa has drawn materials for his Sakuntala and
Raghuvamsa from the portion of the Padmapurana edited here.
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of the Epic and also of the Purana.
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Contents: I. The Antiquity of the four Stages of Life. II. The
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SEPTEMBER, 1 938]
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21 The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India
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CONTENTS
Page
A pre-Mughal Citrapata from Gujarat ... ... 425
By Dr. Hirananda Sastri, m.a., d.lit.
The Title Dasavaikalika Sutra ... ... ... 432
By A. M. Ghatage, m.a.
Origin and Early History of Caityas ... ... 440
By V. R. Ramchandra Dikshitar, m.a.
Identification of the Siddharaja-Saras ... ... 452
By P. K. Gode, m.a.
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela ... ... 459
By Prof. B. M. Barua, M.A., D.LIT.
Chinese-Indian Contacts prior to the latter half of
the first Century ... ... ... ... 486
By Prof. Elmer H. Cutts, m.a.
Glimpses into the Ancient History of Cochin ... ... 503
By Prof. K. Rama Pisharoti, m.a.
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon ... ... 51 1
By Prof. Dr. Wilh. Geiger, ph.d.
The Early Home of the Imperial Guptas ... ... 532
By Dr. D. C. Ganguly, m.a., ph.d.
The Dutch in Bengal after Bedara ... ... ... 536
By Dr. Kalikinkar Dutta, m.a., ph.d.
Nawab Muhammad Ali and the Siege of Arcot (1751) ••• 545
By Prof. C. S. Snnivasachari, m.a.
Gujarati or the Western School of Mediaeval
Indian Sculpture ••• - ••• 553
By M. R. Majmudar, m.a., ll.b.
Kulatattvarnava — a spurious work? ... ... 562
By Promode Lai Paul, m.a.
Page
The Mandukya Upanisad and the Karikas of
Gaudapada
By Amar Nath Ray
Surjanacarita of Candrasekhara ... ... .
By Dr. H. C. Ray, m.a., ph.d.
The Date of Kaumudimahotsava ...
By Kshetresa Chandra Chattopadhyaya, m.a.
The Causeway of Giants at Angkor Thom ...
By George Coedes
Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan
By Sant Lai Katare, m.a.
Contribution to Bhasa Question ...
By Dr. Otto Stien, ph.d.
... 564
... 570
. . . 582
. . . 607
... 613
... 633
A Pre-Mughal Citrapata from Gujarat
l.H.Q,, September , 1938
The Indian Historical Quarterly
Vol. XIV September, 1938 No. 3
A pre-Mughal Citrapata from Gujarat
A fairly large number of illustrated manuscripts has been found
in Gujarat. Most of these manuscripts are Jaina. Kumarapala the
famous Jaina ruler of Gujarat is said to have employed hundreds of
writers to copy out in golden ink some important Jaina works for
free distribution. Vastupala the multi-millionaire of Gujarat spent,
according to the U padesatarahgini, seven crores of rupees on this
pious work of copying books for the use of scholars. Other rich
Gujaratis who followed these noble examples are also known.
Manuscripts were written on palm-leaf, cloth or paper, generally.
Pictures or illustrations were drawn on wooden tablets, palm-leaves,
cloth, leather and paper, as we learn from the several specimens
which have been brought to light. Pre-Mughal specimens of
painting on cloth are rare and one is ever anxious to see another
work of the type of the Vasantavilasa, written in Ahmedabad in the
year 1508 of the Vikrama era (=1451 A.D.), on account of the
various secular pictures it contains. One religious citrapata of the
pre-Mughal times has been seen in Patan, the old capital of Gujarat,
and my learned friend Muni Punyavijayaji of the Sagar ka Upasara
there has kindly lent it to me for publication. A note on it in
Gujarati was contributed to the Atmaram Commemorative Volume
conjointly by me and my pupil Mr. Sarabhai. Owing to the im-
portance of its pictures, however, I think it would be advantageous
426 A pre-Mughal Citrapata from Gujarat
to publish a note on it in English for the benefit of the scholars not
conversant with Gujarati. Accordingly I have drawn the following
account of it in honour of the late Professor Wmternitz as a mark
of respect for and admiration of his scholarship and of the splendid
work he did as a great Indologist.
A good deal of admixture is seen in the tantric systems
of Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, the three great religions of
India, and there can be no denying the fact that this is the result of
borrowing from one another. When a certain system proves success-
ful the followers of the rival faiths would adopt and incorporate it
into their own cults so that there may be no reason or justification
for the wavering minds to go over to the other sect on that account.
In the tantric side Hinduism and Buddhism are greatly indebted to
each other. It is not yet established how much Jainism gave in
return for what it took from Hinduism as far as the tantric phase is
concerned. As it not infrequently happens, when a sect loses its
original vigour and becomes decadent, it imitates the ideas of other
religions. The Jamas, in imitation of Hindu and Buddhist
ideas, created mystic diagrams or yantras. Of such diagrams the
two, namely the Suddhayantra and the Rsimandala have been very
popular with them. Many varieties of both these yantras are known
to us. The citrapata I am noticing here, illustrates the Rsimandala-
yantramnaya as is stated in the words ' iti sri-Rsimandalayantramn-
ayah’ of the scribe written on the picture itself. The pat a further
informs us of the name of the Jaina muni who got it prepared under
his instructions. The text given in the pata is as under : —
fir(t)!rrra fort storft
Here we are told that the yantra-pata was prepared in Sam.
1571, on the 3rd day of the bright half of Vaisakha for the pros-
perity of the followers of Pamnyasa Harsaratnagani, a disciple of
A pre-Mughal Citrapata from Gujarat 427
Jayaratnasiiri who belonged to the direct line of disciples of
Siddhacarya.
In the centre of the pata is drawn the letter brim in five colours.
The painter has drawn the word Om in the Jaina style on the right
of the top of brim, and namdh on its left. Thus the artist has painted
the words Om brim namah which form the bijaksara or the initial
portion of the Rsimandalay antra.
In all the three main systems named above, brim is the maya-
btja or the sacred symbol which controls this illusory world. The
Jaina teachers have based on it a separate treatise called Hrimk'ara-
kalpa. This syllable brim is painted in five colours and thus re-
presents the twenty-four Tirtbahkaras in the traditional manner laid
down by ancient Jaina Acaryas. It is divided into five parts, viz.,
hr, i, the crescent or siddhasila above i and the bindu over the cres-
cent which is divided into two parts by a horizontal line drawn
through it. Hr is drawn in yellow and is meant to represent the
sixteen Tirtbahkaras who are said to be of that colour. These
Tirtbahkaras arc. — (1) Rsabhadeva, (2) Ajitanatha, (3) Sambhava-
natha (4) Abhinandanasvami, (5) Sumatinatha, (7) Suparsvanatha
(10) Sitalanatha, (11) Sreyamsanatha, (13) Vimalanatha (14) Ananta-
natha, (15) Dharmanatha (16) Santinatha, (17) Kunthunatha
(18) Aranatha, (21) Neminatha and (24) Mahavirasvami. It is
painted blue which is the colour of the 19th Tirtbahkara Mallinatha
and the 23rd Tirtbahkara Parsvanatha. Its connection with Malli-
natha is significant for it represents Sakti and Mallinatha is believed
to have been a woman. The crescent-shaped Siddhasila drawn over
hri is red which is the colour of the sixth Tirtbahkara Padmaprabhu
and the twelfth Vasupujya. The bindu over the crescent is divided
into two parts by a horizontal line drawn through it. The upper
portion of the bindu is white which represents the 8th Tirtbahkara,
Candraprabhu, and the 9th Suvidhinatha. The lower portion of
the bindu is painted black and stands for the 20th Tirthankara
428 A pre-M ugbal Citrapata from Gujarat
Munisuvrata and the 22nd, Neminatha who also shares the same
colour. Thus the painter has represented all the Tirthahkaras in the
syllable brim and has thus supplied us with a specimen of pre-
Mughal portraiture of the religious type.
Round brim the artist has drawn four concentric circles. In the
innermost circle the painter has drawn a lotus of forty-eight petals.
In twenty three of these petals he has written the mantraksaras or
syllables used in spells or charms. They are the twenty-three conso-
nants beginning with k, m, l , r, vyum and ending with h, m, l, r,
vyum. After every four consonants and two petals v has been in-
serted. In the first petal v is written thrice while in the second it is
written four times. The painter has written p, m, l, r, vyum twice
and v seven times. Thus the circle has been completed. I am un-
able to explain why the mantraksaras have been arranged by the
painter in this way.
In the next circle the painter has drawn blue lines which stand
for water.
In the third circle are depicted eight lotus-petals to show
the eight cardinal points. (1) Om brim arhadbhyh isebhyo namab /
Ravi brim Sri dbrti purvva-di is written in the petal in the east.
The Arihanta is white in colour, so the painter has drawn a white
figure of Arihanta as also of the superintending deity ( Adhistbayaka )
of the post of Arihanta.
(2) In the south-east petal is written Om brim siddhebhyo
namab / Agni, Soma, Laksmi, Uma, Gauri, etc. The Siddha is red.
So a red figure of the Siddha and of the Adhistbayaka of his post is
drawn after the petal. (3) In the southern petal Om. brim sarva-
suribhyo namab Yama Mahgala Sarasvati Jay a Amba, has been
written. Acarya is of yellow colour, so a yellow Acarya and
the Adhistbayaka of his pada is painted after him. (4) In the south-
western petal we have Om brim upadhyayebhyo namab. Budha
Naira(ri)to, Vijaya, Nitya, Klinna. The Upadbyaya is of blue
A pre-Mughal Citrapata from Gujarat 429
colour but the painter has drawn him as well as the Adhisthayaka
of his post as yellow. (5) In the western petal we find Om hum
sarvasadhubhyo namah Varuna Guru , Ajita, Adadadrava, Kamahga,
The Sadhu is of dark colour. Hence a dark figure of a sadhu ■
and of the Adhisthayaka of his post are drawn after the petal. (6) In
the north-western petal we notice Om hrim jhanibhyo namah jVayu,
Sukra, Kamabana Sanandanandamalini ( bhyo ) namah. Jnana is
of a bright or white colour. Still through oversight the painter has
drawn a figure of a yellow sadhu and of the Adhisthayaka of his post.
(7) I11 the northern petal we have Om hraum tattvadrstibhyo
namah. Dhanada Sani Maya Mayavini Raudri Gurubhyo namah.
T attvadrsti or Darsanapada is white or bright. Still as in the pre-
vious case, the painter has drawn a yellow figure of a sadhu and of
the Adhisthayaka of his post.
(8) In the north-eastern petal we read Om hrim caritrebhyo
namah. Isana, Rahu, Ketu , Kala, Kali, Kalpr{ri)ya, etc. Though
caritrapada is of white colour, the painter has, as before, drawn a
yellow figure of a sadhu and of the Adhisthayaka of his post. Thus
the third circle is completed.
In the fourth or the outermost circle we read the inscription
beginning with Sariivat 1571 which I have given above in full.
After this inscription are written all the vowels from a to ah, the
consonants from ka to ksa and at the end the words iti Rsimandala-
mantramnayah . Thus the yantra is completed.
The whole of this mystic diagram is drawn inside a purna-
kalasa, i.e., an entire pitcher. Thus the twenty-four Tirthankaras
are included in the syllable hrim which is in the middle of the
kala'sa. This syllable hrim is encircled by four concentric circles
which arc described above. At the mouth of the kalasa we have
again the syllable hrim. The yantra is surmounted by the ahkusa-
bija krom.
43 °
A pre-Mughal Citrapata from Gujarat
The kalasa has an eye painted at each of its two sides. Kalasa,
also called mahgala-kalasa or ghat a, is a symbol which is sacred to
all the three main religions of India. The speciality of Jainism, how-
• ever, lies in associating it with two divyacaksus or divine eyes. In
the four corners of this citrapata the figures of Dharanendra, Padma-
vati, Gurumurti and Vairatyadevi are to be seen. Dharanendra is
painted yellow. There are six hoods over his head. He holds a
noose in his right hand and a goad in the left. His lower hands are
shown empty. He is seated in the bhadrasana posture. Beneath his
left thigh is shown an elephant, his cognizance. (2) Padmavati has
the colour of burnished gold. She has three hoods over her head.
She holds a goad in the upper right hand and a noose in the upper
left hand. Her lower right hand is in the varada (boon-giving) pose
and the lower left hand in the abhaya pose. A cock is shown as her
cognizance. (3) Gurumurti is seated on a square wooden seat in the
padmasana posture. His hands are in the pravacana-mudra or
teaching attitude. His complexion is yellow and he wears white
garments. He has placed his sacred broom on his tight thigh. (4)
Vairatya’s complexion is dark. She has three hoods of a snake over
her head. Her upper hands hold snakes. Her lower right hand
is in the varada pose, and the lower left hand is empty. She is seated
in the bhadrasana pose without her emblem.
Besides these portraits in the corners, the artist has drawn pic-
tures of the Nava-grahas, the Nava-nidhis and their guardian deities.
These are detailed as below: —
At the top of the pata Surya is drawn on the right and Candra
on the left. On the left side of it we have Mangala and Budha.
Guru and Sukra are accommodated at the bottom of the pata, and
its right side makes room for Sani, Rahu and Ketu. Near the bot-
tom of the Mahgala-kalasa, the Nava-nidhis are represented in the
form of nine small pitchers. Nearby is the five-hooded Sesa who
guards them. The figure of Ganesa and the representation of leaves
A pre-Mughal Citrapata from Gujarat 431
of a kalpa-vrksa above the mouth of the kala'sa complete the
picture.
In conclusion it may be observed that the artist who prepared
the citrapata under notice had to work in accordance with the cano-
nical injunctions regarding the representations of the divinities of
the Jaina religion. He is not accurate in one or two cases as I have
shown above. But that might have been due to his ignorance, or
perhaps, he followed some new school of orthodox Jaina painting.
In any case the citrapata under notice possesses considerable value for
the comparative study of the three main tantric systems of India.
Moreover, it is one of the rare specimens of pre-Mughal ecclesiastic
pictures requiring attention of scholars interested in Indian pictorial
art.
Hirananda Sastri
The Title Dasavaikalika Sutra
Even from the earliest times, it appears, there was no agreement
among the traditional writers about the form and the interpretation
of the name of the work usually known as the Dasavaikalika Sutra.
Like many other works of the Ardha-Magadhi canon there is no
occasion to give the title name either in the introductory or
concluding portions of the text. References in other works and the
comments upon it are also not unanimous.
In the Nandi Sutra? where a list of the works forming the
canon is given, we find the name of the work in the form Dasaveya-
liya, and stands at the beginning of the Ukkaliya section of the
Suyanana. Bhadrabahu, the oldest commentator of this text, used
in his Nijjutti 1 2 3 the form Dasakaliya six times (vv. i, 7; twice, 12,
14, 25) and the form Dasaveyaliya twice (vv. 6, 397). Of these two
forms of the title, he decidedly favours the first as the name of the
work and he used the second only incidentally. This will be clear
from the fact that in all the three places (vv. 7, 12, 15) where- an
attempt is made to explain the name the form is invariably Dasa-
kaliya and not Dasaveyaliya. Jinadasamahattara in his Curni on
the text, however, and following him Haribhadra in his Sanskrit
lika, usually 'use the form Dasaveyaliya, even though the other
form is found in their works incidentally (Curni, p. 4, Hari. p. 1).
They have not seen any discrepancy between the two names and
explain the title always in the form of Dasaveyaliya.
No material help can be derived from the names of the other
books of the canon. Even though the first word of the name, Dasa
1 Ed. Agamodaya Samiti p. 201b.
2 Ed. Prof. Abhyankara at the end of his edition of the text. The numbers
of the Nijjutti gathas refer to his edition.
3 Ed. of Jamnagar 1933.
The Title Dasavaikalika Sutra
433
occurs in many names of the canonical works, and according to W.
Schubring* all these works form a group by themselves, the meaning
of the word is clear and it always refers to the number of the chapters
found in die particular book. It is only in case of the Vanhidasao
that we find a disagreement between the title and the number of
the chapters. In the present case also, there is no objection to take
the word to mean ten chapters, because the additional two sections
are expressly called Ciilikas and are clearly intended to be later addi-
tions. The second element of the name Veyaliya occurs in only
one other text of the canon, viz., the Tandulaveyaliya a book- in-
cluded among the Painnas but also in the Ukkaliya section along
with the Dasaveyaliya. But there the name means a calculation (vey-
aliya = vicara)’ of the number of rice grains, and cannot have any-
thing to do with the second element of the name of Dasaveyaliya.
A correct interpretation of the name is equally hard to find
out. In this connection it is difficult to decide what meaning of the
title was intended by the author of the Nijjutti, in spite of the three*
different attempts made by him to explain the name. In the intro-
ductory portion of the Nijjutti we find the analysis of the title as
clasa and kala both the words receiving further elucidation. To
explain the import of the word Dasa the author was led to explain
the word ekka. On this verse the Curni has preserved an interesting
passage which runs :
i ^far fa grr
srfassi i *!% tnu' ii (p. 4).
In spite of the assurance of the author and his own inclination
towards the second view, it is undoubtedly the first which is histori-
cally correct and offers one more proof to say that the present work is
4 Die Lehre der Jainas , p. 58,
5 ibid., P . 75 .
SEPTEMBER, 1 938 2
434
The Title Dasavaikalika Sutra
a collection. After the explanation of the number ‘one’ the Nijjutti
goes to explain the number ‘ten’, and after that it states:
.Here it clearly states nine different senses of the word kala and
points out that in the present context the bhava sense is applicable.
What is meant by the bhavakala we are left to guess. The expla-
nation of Haribhadra that it refers to ksayika and other bhavas of
the soul is of no great use and like the above one of the Curni on
ekka is a convenient way for the commentators to pass over the diffi-
culty. In fact Haribhadra has noticed the discrepancy between the
words of the Nijjutti and his own explanation, and so he remarks
i <m* § vrT^qr' fa i 3 fas^-fa 1 3^, ^rfat-
spsrwfa* sroup# ^ ?fa 3jfad«n 1 wi
The remarks are sufficient to point out his inability to explain the
intention of the author. The Curni offers no more light on the
point.
That Bhadrabhahu really meant to explain by the present re-
mark the title of the work and was not merely speculating about the
bhava meaning of the word can be proved from many other places
in the Nijjutti. While explaining the word mahugara he remarks;
ihayam puna ahigaro vihayagamanehi hhamarehim'/ 117. While
explaining the title of the third chapter he says paikhuddaena
pagayam / 185. So also we find him remarking: ettham puna ahi-
garo nikayakaena hoi suttammi/2 89 ettham davvesanae ahigaro / 304
niddesapasamsae ahigaro ettha ajjhayane/^16 and in all these cases
he is perfectly right.
There are two more verses in the Nijjutti which offer another
interpretation of the name. Verse 12 runs:
7^3', fanTTtfasfa 3 1
fa* sfarnfauj 11
The Title Dasavaikalika Sutra
435
This suggests that the work was called Dasakaliya because it was
composed or culled out by Sejjambhava when the period of time
called Paurusi was over. Verse 15 of the same text runs:
Tf ^ fossrilqr 1
^PEff^Pr' 5TTJT II
Here also a nearly identical explanation is offered. Because the
ten chapters which he culled out were placed at the time of Vikala
the work was called Dasakaliya. Besides the apparent disagreement
between the two words of explanation vigayaporisi and veyaliya with
the title dasakaliya, there are two interpretations of the word vikala
possible. It may mean the time of the evening, as the commen-
tators take it or it may mean an improper time, as is suggested by
some modern scholars.'' The choice between the two for Bhadra-
bahu’s own interpretation cannot be decided on the mere authority
of the commentators.
The Curni throws very little additional light on the question of
interpreting the title. It remarks :
1 ^fsnrr <T 3 ?ra 1
spaprcriSr 3TO 1 (p. 5)
Here he accepts the usual interpretation but makes a new sugges-
tion in the form that because it is studied at an improper (or evening
time) it is called Vaikalika. Haribhadra only accepts the usually
accepted explanation that it was written in the evening and tries to
explain the text of the Nijjutti accordingly. After him both the
form of the title and its interpretation were settled once for all and
all later writers follow him closely. 6 7
Now all these explanations except the first obscure one of the
Nijjutti are based upon the traditional story about the composition
6 Cp. for a discussion of the title M. V. Patwardhan The Dasavaikalika : A
Study t pp. 9-10. He himself accepts the traditional explanation.
7 Cp. Hema. Pari. V. 86. Samayasundara, p. i.
The Title Dasavaikalika Sutra
43 6
of the work. But even taking the story as it is, it is difficult to see
how such a small detail, that the work was written in the evening,
should give the title to it. This is much more striking in face of the
fact that there was nothing abnormal about the time itself. It is
true that the Uttaraddhyayana prescribes the first and the last watch
of the day and night for study (XXVI. 12, 18) and the Curni re-
marks that the work was composed in the third Porisi, a little earlier.
But Sejjambhava could have well waited a little more, and it would
have made little difference, as Managa was to live six months more.
The suggestion of the Curni is more to the point. The story tells
us that Managa was to live only six months and it was not possible
for him to complete the study of the scriptures in the usual method
which extended over a very long period. We know that the Purvas
can be studied by a monk in the 19th year of his Paryaya" and it was
impossible for Managa to study them. This naturally led Sejjam-
bhava to have selections from these works for the benefit of his short-
lived son and he taught them to him irrespective of the time which
are prescribed for the study of these works. As such the work would
well receive the name Vaikalika. In this very sense we can under-
stand the words of the Nijjutti ‘veyaliyae thaviya (15). In fact, all
these extractions from the Purva books were intended to bring the
important contents of the works within the province of study of
monks who cannot wait for the regualr period of time prescribed for
their study. In this connection one remark in the Prakrit story as pre-
served in the Curni is instructive. For pointing out the motive of
Sejjambhava to cull out these texts from the Purvas he remarks :
<r ^33# $ff fa 1 pr srafMt sraw-
3 ft 11
So, this rule has same value when we consider that the earlier monks
were not allowed to violate the rules of study unless some specific
8 Ind, Stud., XVI. 223.
The Title Dasavaikalika Sutra
437
cause was available. But when the knowledge of the Purvas began
to grow scarce it was allowed for the few who knew them to make
extractions from them with the intention of preserving whatever
little they can. It can be easily seen that these statements
confirms the view of Charpentier” that the Purvas were lost on
account of their study being placed late in the regular plan of master-
ing the scriptures. I cannot see any strong reason to suppose that
the work got the name Vaikalika because it was culled out against'
the rules of doing so.
All these explanations, however, accept the name to be Dasa-
vaikalika and see no contradiction between it and the other form
Dasakalika. But as seen above, the older name appears to be Dasa-
kalika and not Dasavaikalika. The story itself, probably gave
greater currency to the second form of the title.
To explain the title Dasakaliya we must try to know the mean-
ing of the word kaltya. Two meanings of this word are of im-
portance to us. There is a method of dividing the canon into four-
Anuycgas and it is common to both the sects of the Jama commu-
nity and as such must be very old. The very first of these Anuyogas
is called the caranakarananuyoga and the Dasavaikalika Curm
remarks : tattha caranakarandnuogo nama ■ kdliyasuyam p. 2. From
this it appears that the canonical works dealing with carana or rules
of good conduct and karana or rules of begging food were called by
the name Kalika Sruta. This description passes very well with the
contents cf the Dasavaikalika. We have further the authority of
the Nijjutti to group the present work in this Anuyoga, because it
remarks :
•^ R< !,i 'T.< yn^|TiTTT mi ii
There is, however, another meaning of the word kalika in con-
nection with the texts of the canon. In the Nandi we get the older
9 Uttaraddhyayana, Intro, pp. 23. ff.
43 8
The Title Dasavaikalika Siitra
classification of the canon into those into Angas and Angabahiras,
the second of which is divided into Avassaya and Avassayavairitta.
The last is divided into Kaliya and Ukkaliya. The explanations of
the two terms is given by Malayagiri , 10 which runs:
ara; 3*T : IWct II
and quotes a passage from the Curni to the same effect.
This second meaning also harmonises with the one suggested
above. But this meaning of the word kalika cannot be seen in the
title because the text is included in the Utkalika section and stands
first in that list and not in the Kalika one, which we should naturally
expect if the word has this meaning in the title.
From the facts stated above we can conclude something about
the real state of facts at different times in the history of the text,
even though it must be admitted that it is something of a convenient
supposition to explain the conflicting facts. To my mind, originally
the work was called Dasakalika and not Dasavaikalika, as is amply
proved from the words of the Nijjutti. Thus it really meant ‘ten
chapters dealing with the rules of conduct and of begging food’, the
word Kalika being used in the sense of a part of the canon called
caranakarananuyoga or kalikasruta. Later on when the book was
canonised, as is suggested by the story, it was included in
the Utkalika group of the texts because it could be studied at any
time of the day, though taken from the Purvas and at any year of
the monk’s paryaya. Here, there must have arisen some confusion
about the name Kalika which, in close connection with the name of
the group Utkalika, was taken in the sense of a book to be studied
at the prescribed time, as there was the other group of texts in con-
trast with it, even though the word was used in the title in quite a
different sense, namely to mean a kind of part of the canon dealing
io P. 203b.
The Title Dasavaikalika Sutra
439
with rules of conduct. Naturally to overcome the supposed dis-
crepancy the title was changed to Dasavaikalika, a term identical in
meaning with Utkalika and a trace of which meaning is preserved
in the remark of the Curni. Later on the title was explained in the
light of the story to mean the book composed at the time of the
evening, another meaning of the term vikala. This was tried to be
supported by the facts of the story as best as they could, and thus
both the name and its interpretation were settled in a form quite
different from their original nature.
A. M. Ghatage
Origin and Early History of Oaityas
Sanctuaries of different kinds are frequently met with in the
Buddhist literature. “The most general name for a sanctuary as
Kern says is Caitya (Pali, Cetiydj, a term not only applying to build-
ings, but to sacred trees, memorial stones, holy spots, images, reli-
gious inscriptions. Hence all edifices having the character of a
sacred monument are caityas, but not all caityas are edificee As I
have said elsewhere, the custom of worshipping foot-prints was in
vogue before the time of the Buddha , 2 and so also it will be seen
that the worship of caityas was in existence long before the epoch of
the Buddha. Its probable origin can be traced to the Vedic ritual
of cayana , :i The term caitya does not occur in the Samhitas.
The earliest work in which the term occurs is the Asvalayana
Grhyasutra, assigned generally to the sixth century B.C., but
probably belongs to a much earlier date. Before we proceed to
examine the use of this term caitya in the Asvalayana Gr. Su. or
other works of equal authority, let us examine it etymologically.
The expression admits of several etymological transformations and
one is cityasya idam = caityam .
Now ‘What is citya?’ The Satapatha Brahmana explains
citya 4 as that which could be used for cayana, cr more appropriately,
that which is fit for cayana /’ Though the term caitya as such does
not occur in the Aitareya or Satapatha Brahmana, still it is significant
1 Mannual of Indian Buddhism , (1896), p. 91.
2 Proceedings of All-India Fifth Oriental Conference , (1930) — ‘The History
oi Early Buddhism in India* p. 930).
3 See in this connection the Indian Antiquary, vol. XI, pp. 20-22
4 For an explanation of Agni-citya see Martin Haug — TransL of Ait . Br., V.
Note 28
I srei sCTR. II VI - »• 2 - 16 (Bib. Indica).
44 *
Origin and Early History of Caityas
to note the use of the expression citya from which the original ex-
pression caitya has been undoubtedly derived. In the older Samhitas
we find the use of the term citya. In the Taittiriya Samhita, in the
fifth kanda, we have the following lines :
Rupani | sarvani | rupani |
agnau | citye | kriyante | tas-
mat | etah | agneh | cityasya 0 1
Thus we hear of an Agni-citya to which offerings are made.
The term city am again occurs in the Atharva Veda 7 but it is doubt-
ful whether here an Agni-citya is meant. Whatever this may be,
there is clear evidence of an Agni-citya and its use in the Vedic
sacrifices. And this may be regarded as the origin and commence-
ment of Caitya cult which reached very large dimensions in the post-
Vedic period. But there are other derivations of the word caitya..
First is cityaya idam. Secondly, the commentator on the Amara
derives it thus :
ciyate pasanadina caityam.
This is supported by Mitaksara where, in commenting on the
term caitya in Yajnavalkya, II, 151, it is rendered pasanadi bandhyah.
This means that which is built of stone. Thirdly, caitya may be
from citi or cita, where the terminations ti and ta are added to ci.
These can be interpreted as funeral pile or Agni. In this case
cita + ya makes it cit 4- ya which leads to the form citya. Sometimes
the use of the term cita is extended to smasanam. In commenting
on the text of the Ramayana — citya malyanulepa , s the commentator
Govindaraja observes thus :
cita smasanam tatra bhavam cityam tadr'sam malyam
The expression caityasthana in the Artha'sastra (Bk. V. 2) refers to
the burial ground. In all these derivations it must be remembered
%
6 5. 1.&4. 7 x - 2 - 8 -
8 I. 58.12 (Kumbhakonam edition).
I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, - 1938
3
4*p Origin and Early History 'of Caityas
that every expression is ultimately derived from the root cm cayane
meaning to collect, to pile up or to build. This furnishes the certain
clue that the original term was citya as we saw it used in
the Samhitas and Brahmanas and by the time of the Asvalayana
Gr. Sit., the ancients have developed what is known as caitya yajna.
Thus we see both the terms citya and caitya are correlated and con-
noted one and the same thing in the second half of the Vedic period.
Thus the Sabdakalpadmma quotes an ancient text of Bharata to in-
dicate that caitya is Yajnasthana or Yajnayatana. This is a sacred
place set apart for the performance of Yajnas. It may possess citya
or it may not possess one. Still it went by the name of caitya.”
In the Vedic literature we find two uses of cayana. One form
is that it was a sacrifice in itself. There are several kinds of cayana
sacrifice, and one of them too familiar to students of Yajur-Veda is
the Garudacayana-yaga. In this yaga, special Istakas or bricks are
made with given dimensions, and these are spread in the form of
a Garuda as if lying down on the earth. On it different homas or
oblations are performed. 10 The other was that it formed part of a
great sacrifice like the Asvamedha. Here it was not an independent
yajna. The cayana ritual consisted in collecting the sacred ashes and
the sacrificial utensils, towards the very end of the sacrifice, and
piling them up in a certain place apparently fenced with walls of
stone, brick or even mud. The idea underlying was that things
used in a Vedic yajna ought not get defiled by the villager or stranger
or by any animal or beast. It is pointed out in the text quoted above
io Readers of this paper will learn with interest that this yajna was performed
on Vedic lines within last thirty years by two eminent pandits of Tanjore District.
The late Pandit Balakrishna Sastriar of Tiruvadi did it at Tiruvadi, and after the
yajna he got the whole place fenced with brick wall, so that the place may not get
contaminated with any impurity. The other was my eldest brother Ramaswami
Dikshitar of Vishnampet who performed it on the banks of the Virasoja river at
Tiruvadamarudur, a village very near Kumbakonam.
m
Origin and Early History of Caityas
that such yajnayatana was devoid of mukha ( mukha-rahitam ). In
other words there was no opening that led into it. It was a kind of
enclosure all round. It resembled in shape and size a devakula, by
which Hindu temples were meant in ancient India.
In this connection we must not fail to take note of the fact that
not only in later Vedic literature but in the Mahabharata
and Ramayana, we find a combination so to say of caitya and yupa.
Yupa, it is too well known, is the sacrificial post to which the animal
to be sacrificed was generally tied. And no one can dispute that
wherever yupa is mentioned, there emerges the fact of Vedic yajna
being performed. It is the unquestionable emblem of denoting
that some yaga had been performed there. We shall examine this
further.
Taking up the Mahabharata we find the interesting statement
caitya-yupasatahkita 11 in the Adiparva, meaning the region made
sacred by the caitya and yupa. It needs no stretch of imagination to
infer that caitya and yupa under reference were found in one and the
same place. Conclusion is, therefore, irresistible that caitya was
intimately associated with the place where Vedic yajna had been per-
formed. In another place the epic refers in glowing terms that the
country is full of caityas and yupas 12 implying again that caityas
were places of sacred yajnas. If we turn next to the Ramayana, we
meet with the same description. When Rama went through the
Kosala en route to the Dandaka forests, he found the whole country
decked with caityas and yupas . 13 Valmiki mentions in another
11
12
snjf RrcffaR n L ll8 - *3-
sjTfm: erjt# *rt i
m jrfwrTR^nRrfq' fcc^w- n 11 2 3-*3
u ii- 5°- 8
*3
444
Origin and Early History of Caityas
place 14 that the whole region was spotted with hundreds of caityas.
In these places the reference is undoubtedly to yajnasthana, and the
particular combination of caitya with yiipa deserves to be particularly
noted. Add to this the evidence of the Mrccha-katika. ln In the
tenth Act Carudatta recalls to his mind how he and his ancestors
have performed hundreds of yajnas when the Vedic chanting of
Brahmanas in the caityas of the yajnamandapa rent the air. The
association of caitya with brahmaghosa is noteworthy.
Proceeding to examine the evidence of the Asvalayana Gr. Sii.,
we find for the first time the mention of a caitya sacrifice. Whether
the reference to the caitya by Asvalayana is a reference to the Vedic
caitya, or yajnasthana, or to something else, is the question. H.
Oldenberg who has translated this and other Grhyasutras,™ agrees
with Professor Stenzler who renders it “Denkmal” or any religious
shrine. The caitya sacrifice is thus described . 17 Before the
Svistakrt offering, one should offer a bali to the caitya. If the caitya
jmhrsj cr£Tt*^rcrtfir=r: n Ih - 100 ■ 44-
The term citya (also caitya) is commented upon as follows:
JR 'TT 7 -
Act X. 12.
16 S.B.E., vols. 29 and 30
1 7 SIR faiJfcPtsTR Bk - 1 I2 - »•
jrrci 51 fqr^ ?rt
,jfr i srf^R %*crcr
WPnt I 3- ; TT5JIT HfJRfa I (Anandairama cd.)
This text forms the tenth Khanda of the Trivandrum edition with the com-
mentary of Haradattacarya, edited by Dr. T. Ganapati Sastri. There it is divided
into 8 parts, unlike four in the Anandasrama edition.
Origin and Early History of Caityas
445
is situated at a distant place, he should send the bait through a leaf
messenger. This messenger takes it on a carrying pole,. If the caitya
were situated at a place which could be reached by fording a river
or crossing a dangerous path, suitable means were arranged to get
at the caitya. There are two views on this sacrifice. One is the view
of the commentator Narayana according to whom caitya is derived
as citte bhava . 1S He explains that a man makes a vow to a certain
deity that if his wish be granted he would offer a sacrifice, and
this sacrifice, according to Narayana, is the caitya sacrifice. The
other view is that of Oldenberg who thinks whether or not the whole
rite was not purely symbolical. - One thing is certain that this
sacrifice was not done at residential quarters. It was done in the
place where the caitya was situated. The text is very clear about
this. Another thing we note here is that the caitya was no more
yajna-sthana. For do we not hear of caitya yajna in the text of the
Asvalayana? This yajna is an orthodox sacrifice performed by the
followers of Vedic cult. From the time of Asvalayana onwards we
find the use of the application of the term caitya extended. There
is a transition from Agni-cityas to Anagni-cityas, or in other words
from a fire cult to a fireless cult. We read in the epics and especially
in the Ramayana of caitya grhas , 10 caitya prasadas , 20 and caitya
vrksas . 21 It is difficult to arrive at a correct explanation of these
terms. Caitya grha is explained by some caityasya samipe grham,
1 8 Cp. Bhag. Pur an, III. 26. 70.
1 v - 43- 3-
20 It is worth while to read the whoe chapter. It is said that Hanuman set
fire among others to caityaprasada, when the guards of caitya attacked him in vain.
21 i^rr: qcrfor w** ^ 1
vnMfJTf m u Mbh. vi. 3. 40
See also Rama. II. 6. 11
See again in this connection Siddhanta, The Heroic Age of India, pp. 205-9.
446 . Origin and Early History of Caityas
and by others catuspatha mandapa . 22 We have the use of catuscitya
also. It seems to be a primitive practice to have some apology for a
shrine at the termini of four streets or four roads and offer worship
at that shrine. Such temples are mentioned in the Sangam literature
of the ancient Tamils also. Perhaps in this sense Valmiki uses it
when Dasaratha is said to have distributed food to the poor from
caityas 23 on the eve of Rama’s coronation as Yuvaraja. Valmiki des-
cribes caityaprasada as situated in Lanka, supported by a thousand
columns and majestic in appearance. It is quite reasonable to assume
that a temple is under reference. It was perhaps the biggest temple
in the whole of Lanka and richly furnished by Ravana. It must be
noted that the term prasada means ordinarily a shrine. Next caitya-
vrksas are alluded to in the epic. For example when Valmiki des-
cribes that Ravana was as fearful looking as smasana-caitya, it only
means the caitya or tree growing in the burial ground. 2 * Some lexi-
cons appropriately give among other meanings to the caitya, deva-
tam, uddesavrksa. In the Sabdakalpadruma we read under
caitya-vrksa : Caityastadakhyaya prasiddbo vrksah. It further
enlightens by saying that it was Asvattha tree. The wor-
ship of trees was an age-long practice in India, and latterly some trees
became demarcated caityas, and worship was offered to them. In
certain cases, as we see in the law-books of Manu and Yajnavalkya,
they were trees generally in the burial ground which marked the
boundary limits of the village. According to Manu, underneath
22 Sec for instance Sabdarthacintamani. We have Vcdic authority to show
that sacrifice was performed at catuspatha.
23 TOW: ^fw : ■
sqresnqfSRrsqi: 11 n - 3 - 18
For a combination of devayatana caitya see later ch, 71. 41.
24 The Arthasastra refers to such trees — Bk. V. 2 and Bk. XIII. 2.
447
Origin and Early History of Caityas
their shade Candida and similar castes were to find their residence . 25
Yajnavalkya definitely places the caityas as serving the boundary
limits of a grama or janapada. 2 ’’ In some cases they were boundaries
of gardens and fields . 27 In these cases it may be a tree or even a
building. But the trees of the caitya or caitya trees are certainly
alluded to in another place where the same law-giver forbids cutting
of the branches of those trees under heavy penalty . 28
Perhaps in this sense the great poet Kalidasa uses the expression
in his immortal Meghasandesa . 2 ' 1 The fact then that Dasaratha’s
queen and Rama’s mother, Kausalya, sent forth her prayer, on the
eve of Rama’s departure to Dandaka forests, to the caityas 10 and in-
voked their choice blessings to protect him from all dangers natural to
a forest zone, shows that they were also regarded as fit places for
worship. In more than one place Kautalya refers to caityas as houses
of gods . 51 Kautalya refers to caitya-puja in peculiar circumstances.
2 5
2 6
27 Sec
^3^ SfaT* I
X. 50
II II. 151
Kant. Artba., II. 4 and 35.
28
fls# ^ 11 YR i" a ’ 11 128
The Visntt Parana associates trees with caityas, (III. 12. 13). It prescribe* in the
proceeding chapter that a householder should avoid caityas [lb., 11. 122]. This
prescription demonstrates that caityas are no more Vedic places of worship, yet
another stage in the history of caityas.
2 9
I;
^TRT^: II 2 3-
30 ^ I
^ & SI *1^ " 11 2 5‘ 4
‘31 Arthasastra , Bk. I. 20; Bk. XII. 5.
Origin and Early History of Caityas
448
In those days when people were much more superstitious, they be-
lieved in demons and the harm done to them by them. In order
to avert the evil attacks of demons, the people offered fuja to the
Caityas . 32 The method and time of offering are prescribed. On full
and new moon days the caitya was propitiated by offering at the
altar an umbrella, a small flag and goat’s flesh. Kautalya speaks of
caitya-devata 33 and daivata caityam . 31 Thus we see the prominence
given to caitya worship in the Arthasdstra. Hence these were known
also as devakula or devayatana, and devavasa. 3j From that of the
shrine the application of caitya was extended to a bimba or deity in
the shrine. We hear of this more in the Buddhist and Jain '" 1 books.
The foregoing survey establishes beyond doubt that caityas are
a pre-Buddhist institution. The Buddhists and Jains found that the
masses of the land looked upon these as sacred altars and venerated
them highly. They therefore thought, to venture a conjecture,
better to give the old name to their sanctuaries instead of inventing
a new one. Hence the caitya was adopted as the name of their
sacred shrines, whether they contained the images of the Buddha or
Jina or their relics. This is the last phase in the history of the word
caitya. It is said that in Buddhist books the term is also applied to
a tree as well as to a stupa. The term in Pali is as already seen cetiya
and in Tamil also it is cetiyam The worship of the Buddhists be-
came so much identified with the caitya that we have an interesting
precept
Caityam vandeta, meaning that one is expected to offer his
worship to the caitya or in the caitya. In the course of a learned
disquisition on svargakamo yajeta , the Bhamati of Vacaspati on
Sankara’s Brahmasiitra-bhasya refers to this precept, as a side issue,
as construing the relation of the imperative suffix to the unseen
32 Bk, IV. ch. 3. 33 Bk. I. ch. 20. 34 Bk. V. ch. 2.
35 See, for instance, the Vacaspatyam.
36 Pampa, Adi Puranam, X. st. 241 vacana (Mysore Oriental Library).
Origin and Early History of Caityas
449
potentiality, while in fact the Buddhist precept does not have the
least implication of desire for heaven.” In a note to the above state-
ment the editors remark as follows: “It would appear from the
Rjuprakasika that the statement is ‘Caityam vandeta,’ not ‘Caitye
vandeta,’ so that the obeisance is to the caitya, not in the caitya.
Conformably to this, caitya would mean not a shrine, but the con-
secrated fig-tree which Buddhists offer worship .” 38 But one has to
point out that the statement ‘caityam vandeta’ would itself admit
of both interpretations, namely, obeisance to the caitya or in the
caitya. It may also be pointed that the caitya need not necessarily be
the consecrated fig-tree but any shrine sheltering a relic of the Buddha
or even his image. Before we proceed further, attention may be
drawn to the fact that the consecrated fig tree which the Buddhists
worship is the sacred Asvattha of Sanskrit literature. How the
Asvattha has been an object of veneration and adoration by the
Hindus can be seen from a single soul-stirring stanza of the Bhagavad
Gita . 39 It means ‘They say the inexhaustible Asvattha has its roots
above, its branches below : the chandas are its leaves. He who
knows it knows the Vedas. Upwards and downwards extend its
branches which are enlarged by the qualities and the sprouts which
are sensuous objects.’ Thus it is seen that even in the choice of their
sacred tree, the Buddhists took to the tree traditionally venerated
by their Hindu ancestors.
37 See p. 153 of the Bhamatl ed. by S. S. Suryanarayana Sastri and Dr. C.
Kunhan Raja (T.P.H., Adyar) 1933. See in this connection Sammohavinodani ,
p P . 292, 348.
38 ibid ., P . 303.
39 I
q^q qqjjfq W ^ ^ II Xv -
Even to-day circumambulating this tree daily or on certain fixed days is
considered to be a meritorious deed by the Hindus. Not only it cannot be used for
fuel but it is the only tree from which the fire for a Vedic Yajna can be got by
churning, and its twigs used as oblations to the sacred fire.
l^H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1 938
4
45 ° Origin and Early History of Caityas
Remark has already been made chat the caityas had either the
images of the Buddha or Jina installed in them or contained the
relics dhatu — in the Buddhist parlance. The dhatus or relics are of
three kinds. First there were corporeal relics or sarira-dhatus. It is
said that the neckbone of the Buddha was enshrined in a caitya in
Ceylon. 40 Secondly, there were paribhogika-dhatu, or relics which
were actually used by the person ( paribhoga ). These may be clothes,
ornaments, alms-bowl etc. used by the Buddha. 41 Thirdly, there
were the uddesika-dbatu , which has been rendered indicative relics. 42
Under this category may come images etc. of the person worshipped.
Thus the caityas of the Buddhists were mostly relic-shrines, though
ordinary shrines also went by that name. The Budhidst legends
attribute to king Asoka the building of as many as 84000 caityas. 40
Though this may not be literally true, still it is reasonable to suppose
that he, a tolerant monarch, would have encouraged building of some
caityas in his time, whether Buddhist cr Hindu. The story of the
Buddha’s great decease, the cremation of the corpse, the distribution
of his corporeal relics and their enshrinement in caityas and stupas
are all elaborately narrated in the Mahaparinibbana-sutta, an ancient
Pali work of perhaps the fourth century B.C. 11 Thus there is ample
evidence which elucidates that Buddhist stupas and caityas were
shrines which sheltered the three kinds of relics referred to above.
This does not mean that there were no caityas or stupas before the
Buddha. We have seen a number of references in the Vedic and epic
literature of the existence of such institutions in ancient India, which
evoked religious awe from the masses. It is not, therefore, surprising
40 ]RAS., 1907, PP . 343-44.
41 Cp. the reliefs on the rails of the Barhut Stupa.
See the preamble to the Kalinga-bodhi Jataka.
42 JRAS., 1916, p. 883.
43 See ch. 26 of the Divyavadana , a Sanskrit Buddhist work.
44 See for details Dr. Fleet’s article in the JRAS., 1906, p. 657.
Origin and Early History of Caityas
45 1
to read in the Mahaparinibbanasutta that the Buddha spoke of the
efficiency of erecting dhatu-caityas, and himself visited caityas 43 like
Udena, Gotama, Sattambaka, etc., while the Digha Nikaya bears
testimony to the fact that the Buddha lived at the Ananda-cetiya in
Bhojanagara. u As these and other references to the Caitya in the
Buddhist literature have been elaborately examined by Dr. B. C.
Law, 17 1 do not propose to traverse the same ground. Suffice it to say
that this is an additional proof to demonstrate that the caityas were
pre-Buddhistic institutions and the Buddhists as well as Jains' 18 gave
the same name to their sanctuaries.
V. R. Ramchandra Dikshitar
45 Chap. Ill, secs. 36-47 and especially 47.
idan’ eva kho taharn Ananda ajja Capale cctiye amantesim:
“Ramaniya Ananda Vc.ali, ramaniyam Udcnam cctiyam, ramaniyam
Gotamakam cctiyam, ramaniyam Sattambam cetiyam, ramaniym
Bahuputtam cetiyam, ramaniyam Sarandadam cetiym, ramaniyam
Capalam cetiyam.
See also Dr. B. C. Law, History of Pali Literature, p. too.
46 II. p. 123.
47 Sec his Geography of Early Buddhism, appendix.
48 See Stevenson, Heart of Jainism, p. 280.
Identification of the Siddharaja-Saras
In a work called the Sarasvatipurana devoted mainly to the
description of holy places or tirtbas associated with the river Saras-
vati 2 in Gujarat falling into the gulf of Kutch, there is a good deal
of description of a lake called - 3 This lake, the Saras-
vatipurana tells us, was formed from the river Sarasvati itself : —
Folio noa (of Ms. No. 429 of Vis. I) —
a <pf SPrhjffr 1
Jffdl ^ IR^II
m \
effji uraumr uv*i
1 MSS. of the Sarasvati fur ana mentioned by Aufrecht are: —
Part 1 , f. 699 — “Kh. 64. B. 2, 34; BL. 2; Gu. 3; Bhk. 14; Poona 429” (a
Saradapurana is frequently quoted by Hemadri). Out of these MSS. the MS.
available to me is “Poona 429” which is the same as No. 429 of Vis I in the Govt.
MSS. Library at the B.O.R. Institute, Poona.
2 See N. L. Dey’s Geographical Dictionary (London, 1927) pp. 1 80-181 where
various identifications of the river Sarasvati are recorded. We arc concerned here
with the river Sarasvati which is an affluent of the river Kuvarka falling into the gulf
of Kutch.
3 Hemacandra, a contemporary of Siddharaja refers to this lake as follows in
verse 114 of canto XV of the Dvyasrayakavya.
“crater jpr 3 1^*3: 1
s 13 spp irsier: imvu”
Abhayatilakagani who wrote his Commentary on the Dvyasrayakavya in Sam. 1312
=A.D. 1256 comments on the above verse as follows: —
•% TRT Ijf ^
(Vide analysis of this Kavya in 1 A. S IV, p. 269) cf. also verse 117 of
canto XV of the Dvyasrayakavya : —
? srracFnft 11”
453
Identification of Siddharaja-Saras
fogT lifts tfftf ftfWT I
4<£I? ScSftSJtfi fWcTT^RW ST IK ' II
m scswttsts gss gw i
sgftcfr fp-TcTT #ert qrftRftt HV;il”
This lake, thereafter, became the abode of all heavenly beings
as Siddharaja established one thousand iihgas of god Siva all round
it: —
"SST SI*TT iTSTTS % I
s%; srw- ss s^ssmTRrsT 113 m
spr ’ m fawisr rag fts ftsfesg i
fasra dssrsrg: s%ftrgssTs^ 113^11”
The place in course of time attained great celebrity as a centre
of religious purification : —
OTH. I
fc gssftf^ft Iwht gw fftrft*. 113*11
fog #%g fsws fogTrrraikr: i<*°ii”
It became pre-eminent among the holy places owing to th?
presence of 1 000 Siva Iihgas : —
"swift ftsfarfiftSSTm: *R: 1
spr‘ St ftsTTST ftScf sf II* ill”
Even god Kesava made this place his abode to please king
Siddharaja : —
"sitft*f fagftrftS gs&sgstTS* 1
tSRITSt tssfrfr: tfcftftfafs 113*11”
St ^ S tssrs: 4 sfsftft SSTftt: I
ttSTS gfffft tug 3f%S^tTTlt% BJ T% IIV - II
tiftT cfr 4 s* st >ftsfs ttfttfssg 1
stqftisfsg'W Ifss sTcgsfor % 11*. <*11
4 About the temple in the centre of the Sahasraling Talav Burgess observes : —
“In the centre was an island on which stood the temple of Rudresvara destroyed
of course by the Muslims, who raised a large octagonal Rauzah on its ruins; but of
this only the dilapidated remains now exist.” It appears from verses 48, 49, 50 of
the Sarasvatipurana quoted above that the central temple was of Kesava or Visnu
454
Identification of Siddharaja-Saras
In front of god Kesava is situated the in the
Siddharaja lake : —
^ sftsnn* <
5 THT 73 W***
The ten images of the ten incarnations of god were established
at the 5 ffcf by Siddharaja himself. These ten images are of
the ten avatar as viz: —
(S) JTcST (») (\) *RTt (*) («■) (*;) U*T:
(*) (*) f^JT (?) fi: and (l®) (verses 61 and 62).
Another tirtha called the ^TT^f^PP is situated in front
of the image of fT^FTPraro —
“enq^qracreisr 1
stt: srsraT q *pf*re ii'*ui
^psjilfos atef s^r: 1
qw ^ ti*»n”
Sumati now asks Markandeya to explain to him the genesis of
the 1000 Siva lingas which is then explained in a mythical style as
follows :
“smito qrft %wrfa ftfpPTfa 1
M fagTTi?: TO!i; II*} II
^nfqrcf 1
imvu
The purificatory powers of a single Siva lihga have been men-
tioned by god Siva himself, in the %?STT§r. What can be the
power of 1000 Siva lingas ? : —
ftmrrer 3 spfaci 1
tfssr’ m ft w 1 *tu”
Siddharaja practised penance on a mountain called the
?T*rcft 33 i and then took his bath in the waters of the river
and not of Rudresvara and this fact is consistent with the cfM m fr° nt
of the god Kesava in the same lake containing the image§ of the io incarnations
of god Visnu as described in detail by the Sarasvaftpurana (verses 61-62 of chap. xvi).
Identification of Siddharaja-Saras
455
Narmada (v. 90). God Omkar was pleased at this and granted
Siddharaja a boon, promising that he would thenceforward reside
permanently on the embankment of the Sahasralinga Lake : —
eJW SfcSHRf % sfifiWHS: IISRIl”
Then follows a long dealing with the effects of
religious rites performed at the Sahasralinga tirtha, followed by the
following prasasti of king Siddharaja and his Lake: —
“sr sr 1
mr ipr «>ii
cT5rnn?Tftj 1
srrannH'r ^ <far*r ^ ii'mu
<m% fern ^ fera: umii
^irar % f^T ^ irarfcraT 1
fasjRR m iii^ii
%gt*ra*Rt ustt * 1
spr' fent ??nr in^vu”
XVI from which the above information has been
designated and it ends with the
Chapter
extracted
is
following verses : —
Folio 121b “$i 3 *r-
’Tfc’TT S#rW^ I
srrntfa ^nrT^^nf’rt^
snrrfg f^rk tot ^ ir^ii
Tsfar ^ 1
% ft^TTTT: gf^Rt JTg^Tr:
vr^f5=5T IK ^ til”
I shall now record the description' 1 of the Sahasralinga Talav the
construction of which has been ascribed to king Jayasimha Siddha-
5 Burgess and Cousens : ‘Architectural Antiquities of Northern Gujarat’ (Arch.
Survey of Western India, vol. IX), London, 1903, pp. 38-39.
45 ^ Identification of S iddharaja-Saras
raja 6 of Gujarat (A.D. 1093- 1143). Various artificial lakes or
reservoirs in Gujarat are ascribed to Siddharaja. “One of the largest
of these was the Sahasralinga talav, or tank of the thousand Saiva
shrines at Pattan the remains of which are still pointed out to the
north-west of the town. It must have been a reservoir of immense
size, and derived its name from the numerous little temples contain-
ing lihgas , placed on the steps around it. In the centre was an
island on which stood the temple cf Rudresvara destroyed of course
by the Muslims, who raised a large octagonal Rauzah on its ruins;
but of this only the dilapidated remains now exist.’’ “The basin
of the lake is now converted into little fields. The great embank-
ment surrounding it appears to be composed throughout of solid
brick-work and this was once faced with solid masonry forming
flights of steps to the water’s edge. On and above these steps stood
the thousand shrines of which fragmentary remains are still found
buried in the debris of the embankment.” “This tank is said to
have been begun by Jayasimha Siddharaja shortly before he set out
against Yasovarman, the sovereign of Malava and is the theme of
legend and song.”
A historical incident associated with this tank is the stabbing
of Bairam Khan, the famous minister of Humayun, when alighting
from a boat after a sail on the tank on Friday the 3 ist January 1561.
Bairam Khan rebelled against Akbar and was sent to Makka. He
came to Patan and was hospitably received by Musa Khan Fuladi the
6 Vide pp. 973-977 of Dynastic Htstory of Northern India by Dr. Hem
Chandra Ray, vol. II (1936) — Jayasimha was a great builder. Besides the Sahasralinga
Talav the temple of Rudramahakala at Siddhapur is also ascribed to him. (The
Sarasvatipurana contains a description of this temple and some genealogy of
Siddharaja but I shall deal with this material in a separate paper). Jayasimha
appears to have been a devotee of the Saiva faith. The era known as the Simha era
was already in use in Jayasimha’s reign (Vide Atm Stone Inscription dated in the
year 14 of this era as also Mangrol inscription of Kumarapala dated in the 32 year
of this era). One sorrow viz. the want of a son gnawed at his heart. Dr. Ray (p. 975)
gives a table showing the relationship of Kumarapala with his predecessor Jayasimha.
Identification of Siddharaja-Saras 457
Governor, but was stabbed by Mubarik as described above. Burgess
further remarks that during the 14th century all the rich shrines of
the Hindus (Brahmanical or Jain) were desecrated, plundered and
demolished at the will or caprice of the Moguls. If this state-
ment is applicable to the Sahasralinga Talav we may presume that
the shrines on the embankment of this talav may have been destroyed
in the 14th century. I am of opinion that the Sarasvatipurana was
composed at a time when the tirthas associated with the river Saras-
vati had attained so sacrosanct a character as to necessitate the creation
of a special purana like the Sarasvatipurana . 7 It would also be reason-
able to suppose that when this purana was composed all the tirthas
on the banks of the river Sarasvati were quite in a flourishing
condition, free from the ravaging hands of the Moguls.
The Bombay Gazetteer" records the following information
about the Sahasralinga Talav: —
“The Sehesling or Sahasrahng Talav, the tank with the
thousand shrines, was dedicated to Shiv by Sidh Raj just before he
set out on his expedition against Yasovarman, king of Malava. A
merchant left nine lakhs of Balotras with a certain banker and died.
The heirs of the latter knew nothing of the sum and refused to take
it. Jai Sing Sidh Raj decided that the money should be spent in
building a reservoir, and it was done, “the finest in the world, hither-
to unsurpassed by all that the cleverest and wisest have executed or
imagined, and it remains to this day (A.D. 1200-1230).”
I believe the foregoing description of the Sahasralinga tank if
compared with that given in the Sarasvatipurana leaves no doubt that
the Siddharaja Saras described in the latter work is exactly identical
7 Hemacandra, a contemporary of Siddharaja Jayasimha informs us (in
chapter xv, verse 118 of the Dvyasraya Mabakavya) that Siddharaja Jayasimha caused
to be made the Sahasralinga tank and established also schools for learning Jyotisa -
sastras, Nyaya-sastras , and the Pur anas. Perhaps the Sarasvati fur ana may have
been' the outcome of ' the study of Puranas instituted by Jayasimha.,
8 Bombay Gaz. vol. VII (Baroda) p. 600. ; '
I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1938
5
Identification of Siddbaraja-Saras
45 8
with that now known to history and archaeology. It appears, how-
ever, that though the tank was called a Sahasralihga-saras the actual
number of 3aiva shrines on the bank of this lake was one thousand
and eight as stated by Hemacandra QT&fc i°
The testimony of Hemcandra being contemporary must
be taken as conclusive on the question of the exact number of
the Saiva shrines on the bank of the Siddharajalake. 9 10
P. K. Gode
9 Vide B.S.S., LXIX ( Dvyasraya Kavya ), canto XV, v. 117.
10 I take this opportunity of thanking Mr. Ambalal B. Jani (Assistant
Secretary, Forbes Gujarati Sabha, Bombay) at whose request I began my study of
the historical material in the Sarasvatipurana in April 1937. Mr. Jani was also kind
enough to keep the contents of this paper in May 1937 at the disposal of the scholar
entrusted with the work of editing the Sarasvatipurana. I am not aware to what
extent the:e contents have been useful to the above editor in the preparation of
his proposed edition of the work. I await with eagerness this edition of the Saras-
vatipurana for which I have supplied to the Forbes Gujarati Sabha a copy of the
B.O.R. Institute MS. No. 429 of Vis. I (from the Vishrambag Collection of the
Peshwas in the Govt MSS. Library).
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
(Revised Edition)
[The Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela, as is well-known,
is the main old Brahmi inscription in an open cave on the Udayagiri
hill which is situated three miles due west of the Bhubaneswar
temple. The record which was first noticed by Sterling is engraved
“on the overhanging brow of a natural cavern, very little improved
and enlarged by art.” It is, as observed by Indraji, “in seventeen
lines occupying a space about eighty-four feet square.” “The face
of the rock does not appear to have been well smooth for the work,
but the letters are large and deeply carved. Time and weather have
wrought ravages. The first six lines are well preserved. The last
four, partly so. The greater part of the intervening space has been
much spoilt, portions of it being entirely weather-beaten, while in
other portions single letter or groups of letters can still be made out.
The left corner of the inscription, in especial, has been greatly in-
jured, and the initial letters of eight lines in that direction are
entirely lost.”
K. P. Jayaswal, who together with R. D. Banerji made the
decipherment and interpretation of this historical record his life-
work and greatly succeeded in achieving it, remarked to the same
end, as early as 1917: “The rock was roughly dressed on the
right-hand side. The chisel marks of the dressing are misleading;
they tend to produce misreadings. These long and irregular marks
left by the original dressing, are not the only pitfalls. Rain-water
which trickles down the roof of the cave has cut into the letters and
produced a few letter-like marks. Natural decay produced by time
has given misleading turns to numerous letters even hornets
like to take the liberty with the record of the emperor Kharavela
with perfect impunity and have added a few irregular marks on it.
460 Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
The inscription is weather-beaten. The first four lines have
about 13 syllables obliterated by natural decay. Half of the record
of the 6th year (1. 6) and the entire record of the 7th year (1. 7) have
disappeared. From the 8th up to the 15th lines, every line has
got large gaps wrought by decay. The 16th and 17th lines are
comparatively well preserved except for the loss of about 12 initial
syllables. There are visible signs of a progressive decay.”
Its chief value as an historical record lies in the fact that up
till now there is no other record which can vie with it in antiquity as
an epigraph in the ancient kingdom of Kalinga set up by its own
independent king. Even in respect of antiquity, it stands next to
none blit the two sets of rock inscriptions left by Asoka who con-
quered Kalinga in the third century B.C. and annexed it to his
empire as an eastern province ruled by a viceroy. The forms of its
letters suggest a stage of development of the Brahmi alphabet, which
is almost on a par with that represented by the Nanaghat cave ins-
cription of Nayanika, widow of the Andhra king Satakarni I (R. D.
-Banerji’s Mem. ASB., vol. XI, No. 3, on “The palaeography
of the Hathigumpha and the Nanaghat inscriptions”). But in the
opinion of Rai Bahadur Ramaprasad Chanda, from the palaeographic
point of view, the Hathigumpha inscription deserves to be placed
not only after the Besnagar Garuda inscription of the year XII after
the installation of Maharaja Bhagavata, and the Nanaghat cave ins-
cription of Nayanika, but after the Bharhut gateway inscription
of Dhanabhuti; it deserves at the same time to be placed before the
Sand gateway inscriptions. Even the Bodhgaya railing inscriptions
of Kurangi and Nagadevi appear to have been somewhat earlier as
regards their alphabet than the Hathigumpha inscription. So far
as its language goes, the Hathigumpha inscription is the only Indian
inscription, the diction of which is not only Pali but the sonorous
and- rhythmical Pali of the Milindapanha, an extra-canonical
Buddhist work which cannot be dated earlier than the 1st century
461
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
A.D. The importance o£ the epigraph lies also in the fact that as
a raja-prasasti in Prakrit, it is, perhaps, posterior to no other inscrip-
tion than the Nanaghat cave inscription of Nayanika. As for the
bibliography, the reader may be referred to my Old Brahmi Ins-
criptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves , published by the
Calcutta University, 1929, pp. 4-5. Here I am to refer only to
two subsequent publications, viz., R. D. Banerji’s Monograph — ‘The
Palaeography of the Hathigumpha and the Nanaghat inscriptions,’
Mem., ASB., vol. XII, No. 3, and a finally revised edition of the
Hathigumpha inscription by K. P. Jayaswal, Epigraphia Indica,
vol. XX.]
TEXT
\T he asterisk prefixed to a footnote indicates that the
correctness of the reading suggested may be tested here by the
facsimiles reproduced in the accompanying plates .]
1 1 | | Namo araha(m)tanam [,] Namo savasidhanam |||] 1
1. Airena maharajena Mahameghavahanena 2 Ceti-
rajava [m] sa 1 -vadhanena 1 pasatha -subhalakha-
nena" caturamta-luthana 11 -guna-upetena' Kalim-
i C£. Jaina formula of namokkara or nokara :
Namo arihamtanam, namo sidhanamjj
Namo ayariyanam, namo uvajhayanamj(
Namo lo-e savva sabunam||
Buddhist formula of vandana in the Petakopadesa:
Namo sammasambuddhanam paramatthadassinani
siladiguna-paramippattanam||
*2 Cf. Inscription of Kudepa. IHQ vol. XIV, p. 160.
*3 The choice lies between Ceti 0 and Ceta°.
4 Cf. Pali Sakyanam nandi-vaddhano as a word of praise for the Buddha,
Nandi-vaddhano being the same in meaning as harsa-varddhanah .
5 fasatha — Pali pasattha, cf. attha-sata pasattba Khuddakapatha, Ratana-sutta;
Jayaswal, °lakhanena.
*6 Jayaswal, luthita. But the i-stroke over the letter tb is absent, and the third
letter, as made out by Prinsep, Cunningham, and also by Jayaswal before is na.
*7 Jayaswal, gunopahitena. I must accept Chanda’s guna-upetena for the reason
462
Hatbigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
gadhi-patina siri-Kharavelena* fl.ij pamdarasa"
-vasani siri-kadara 10 -sariravata kidita kumara-
kidika [.] Tato lekha-rupa-ganana-vavahara 1 1
-vidhi-visaradena savavijavadatena nava-vasani
yovaraja(m) va sasitam 12 [.J Sa(m)puna-catuvisati-
vaso tadani 1 ' 1 vadba(mana)-(sesa)yovanabhivijayo"
tatiye [I.2] Kalimga-rajavamse purisa-yuge 1 ’’
maharajabhisecanam 11 ’ papunati
that the second letter is distinctly na, and not no. For the whole phrase, cf. Pali
Caturanta-vijitavi.
8 The name of Kharavela was correctly made out for the first time by Indraji.
9 The typical Oriya word for fifteen is pandara.
10 Pali kalara , cf. Kalara-Janaka, Kalara-mattuka; Skt. Kadara-Ja:mint. Cf.
also Prakrit Siri-katara.
1 1 Pali-v ohara.
*12 Jayaswal, pasasitam 3 which, too, may stand as a correct reading.
13 I now accept Jayaswal’s tadani in preference to my so dani.
*14 Jayaswal, vadhamanasesayo Vendbhijayo. According to this reading,
vadhamana-sesayo — varddhamanah asatsavah } and V enabhivijayo means a conqueror
like Vena, a Vedic personality. In accepting this reading, my first objection is due to
the uncertainty of the ^-stroke over the fourth letter n. Secondly, nowhere in the
language of the Hatbigumpha inscription y is substituted for v; and thirdly, the
letter after yo may not only be read as ve but also as vo. The reading vadhamana -
sesayovandbbiyayo must be preferred as referring to Kharavela’s career after his 24th
year; while, according to JayaswaPs reading, Kharavela proved to be a conqueror like
the Vedic mythical hero Vena from his very boyhood, which he did not.
15 For purtsa-yuga, cf. Majjbima-nikaya, II, p. 75, Samanta-pasadika, vol. I,
p. 190; Mahavastu , ed. Senart, I, p. 1.
16 Jayaswal, maha°.
17 For the whole statement, cf. Makhadeva-Jataka, (Fausboll, No. 9): A the
Vtdeha-ratthe Mithilayam Makhadevo nama raja ahosi dhammiko dhammaraja. So
caturasiti-vassa-sahassani kumara-kilam tatha oparajjam tatha maharajjam katva. Cf.
also Majjbima-nikaya, II, p. 76.
Also verses quoted by Hoernle from the Jaina Vikramaprabandha, IA., vol.
XXI, p. 67:
Sattari cadusata-jutto tina-kale Vikkamo havai jammo\
atha-varasa vala-lila sodasa-vase hi bhammie dese ||
Rasapana-vasa rajjam kunanti micchavadena samjutto\
Hathigumfha Inscription of Kharavela
2. Abhisitamato ca padhame vase vata-vihata-go-
purapakara-nivesanam patisamkharayati Kalimga-
nagari -Khi(b)ira(m)’ 8 [,] sitala' "-tadaga-padiyo
ca bamdhapayati [,] savuyana-patisamthapanani
ca [I.3] karayati panatisahi sata-sahasehi 2H [,]
pakatiyo ca ramjayati [.]
3. Dutiye ca vase acitayitii Satakanim 21 pachima-
disarn haya-gaja-nara-radha-bahulam damdam
pathapayati 22 [,] Kanhabemnamgataya 2 ‘ ca
senaya vitasiti 21 Asika-nagaram 2 '’ [.]
4. Tatiye puna vase [I.4I Gamdhava-veda-budho
dapa-nata-gita-vadita-samdasanahi 211 usava-samaja-
karapanabi kidapayati nagari(m) f.|
*18 I regret my previous reading gabhira, for the first letter is definitely khi , the
^-stroke in pu of samfuna in 1. 2 and the ?-stroke in khi of khibira in I.3 being
joined together by rain-water trickling down. The second letter may also be read
as bhi. Jayaswal reads Khibhtra , taking it to be the name of a rsi after whom the
tank was called Khiblra-isitala-tadaga. I cannot but think that Khibira represents
the name of the then capital of Kalmga. The scribe allows a space between Khtbtra.
and sttala, as he has systematically done in 1. 3 for separating two distinct words or
expressions. One may be tempted abo to read Khipra.
*19 Jayaswal, tsitala t which must be discarded for a twofold reason: (1)
that the letter i at the beginning of the word is highly doubtful, and (2) that the
fancied ^-stroke over the letter ta is uncertain.
2a I have fully stated my reasons for connecting this expression with the pre-
ceding statement, and not with pakatiyo ca ranjayati. See my Old Brahmi Inscrip-
tions , p. 41, f.n. 6.
21 Jayaswal, °kamnim.
22 This has determined the usual Oriya phrase, damda pathayochi , “I have
caused the army to march."
*23 Jayaswal, Kanhabemnagataya.
24 Jayaswal, vitasitam.
*25 Jayaswal, Musika. It will be seen that the right vertical stroke and the inter-
vening space between the two arms fulfil all the requirements of the letter a. But
Asika may be just a variant of the name Musika. Cf. Pali A! aka as a variant of
Mulaka, Suttanipata, Bk. V, Alakassa samasame.
26 Jayaswal, samdamsanahi.
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
5. Tatha cavuthe vase Vijadharadhivasam ahata-
puvam 2 ' Kalirnga-puvarajan(ivesitam) 28 vitadha-
makute 29 ????? te 30 nikhita-chata -[I.5I bhim-
gare hita-ratana-sapateye sava-Rathika-Bhojake
pade vamdapayati [.]
6. Pamcame cedani’ 1 vase Namdaraja-ti-vasa-sata-
oghatitam Tanasuliya-vata panadifrn] nagaram
pavesa(yati) so 12 [.]
7. Abhisito 33 ? 34 rajaseyam 3,1 samdam-
sayarnto'’'’ sava-kara-vana- 1 1 [1.6] anugaha-ane-
kani sata-sahasani visajati pora-janapadam' ,s [.]
8. Satame ca vase (a)sasata 39 -vajiraghara 1 " -khatiya- 41
*27 I have to abandon the reading ahata-puvam.
28 Indraji, -namamsitam; Jayaswal, - nwesitam .
*29 Jayaswal, vitadha-makuta, correcting his previous reading vitadha-makute.
*30 Jayaswal. (sa) bilamdhite, which is highly problematic. The first letter looks
indeed like a sa. One may be tempted to read the second letter as bi, but none
may be certain about it. The third letter, as made out by Indraji, is fu; or, it
may even be fra, but certainly not la. The last three letters should better be read
as either vajite or vadhite, but not as mdhite. Is the intended word sabtpravajtte,
which is=Skt. sadvtpravarjitan.
31 Jayaswal, ca dani.
*32 Jayaswal would take the record o£ the 6th year to begin with so ;
I think, here is an expression denoting the amount which had to be spent on the
work mentioned in the record of the 5th year.
33 Jayaswal makes out the beginning of the 6th year record to be : So
bhisito.
34 The gap may, perhaps, be supplied by the expression ca chathe vase.
*35 I accept Indraji’s reading, rejecting Jayaswal’s rajasttyam , the former being
precisely what is intended by the scribe.
36 Indraji, samdamsanato , Cunningham, samdasamto.
yj Jayaswal, °uanam. 38 Jayaswal poram janapadam.
# 39 Prinsep and others, pasdsato, which is neither unlikely nor inappropriate.
Jayaswal, satamam c'a vasam pasdsato.
*40 I accept Jayaswal’s reading in the absence of anything better I myself can
suggest.
# 4i See foot-note 42.
1. 3 ; f n - *9
V)om JBORS , UJ27 and Mem ASH., Vol. XII, No. 3.
I HQ., September, 1 93#.
1 . If, —
from IBORS-. > 9*7
and Mem. ASB.
, Vol. XII, No. 3-
•mber, f 93‘ < ''
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela 465
-sata-ghatani 42 Samataka 43 -padasamna 44 samti-
pada 43 ?? [.] 46
9. Athame ca vase mahata senaya (apati)hata- (bh)-
iti 47 -Goradhagirim [I.7] ghatapayita Raja-
gaha(m) upapidapayati 48 [,] etinam 49 ca kamma-
padana-panadena? pabamta 51 -senavahane 32 vipa-
mucitum 53 Madhuraqi apayato 5 1 Yavana-raja
? mi ? ? sa ? 55 (a)mo, dati' ,r ‘ ? ? ? Sava(ra-ra)
jana fl7 ca... ga(cha)ti ,R [1.8] palavabhara-’ 9
*42 Jayaswal, -vati-gsusita-gbarini, which is far from correct. I think, my
reading sata-ghatani is free from doubt.
*43 Jayaswal, samatuka.
*44 Jayaswal, padapumna. °dasamna , obviously scribe’s mistake for dasamna.
*45 Jayaswal, ...(kU)ma. Prinsep and Cunningham, savata-kabadapana narapa.
One might be tempted even to read: savitaka-padajbana-sammtipada (?)
46 Both the reading and purpose of the record of the 7th year are problematical.
The above text may just make some sense out of a nonsense.
*47 Jayaswal, mabata-bbiti. The first letter rather looks like a.
*48 Prinsep, Rajagabbam upapidapayati; Cunningham, Rajagambhu upapida-
payati; Indraji, Rdjagaha-napam pidapayati; Sten Konow has no objection to the
the reading napa.
49 Jayaswal, etina, which, too, is a likely reading.
*50 Jayaswal, samnadena,
*51 Jayaswal sambita. Prinsep reads pambata.
*32 Jayaswal senavabano , which will deprive the transitive verb vipamucitum
of its object. He finally reads vahane.
53 Jayaswal, vipamumcitu.
54 Cf. Nasik Cave inscription, No. 10 (EL, vol. VIII):
Bhataraka amnatiya ca gatosmim varsa-ratum
Malayehi rudbam Utamabhadram
mocayitum ca Malaya pranaden eva apayata.
*55 Tentatively read Dimita by Dr. Sten Konow. To read Dimita qr Dimtta with
Jayaswal will be to go too far. But the reading Yavana-raja is certain.
56 The reading is pretty certain.
*57 The reading suggested is doubtful.
*58 Jayaswal, yacati.
*59 Jayaswal, palava
X.H.Q.j SEPTEMBER, 1 938
6
4 66
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
[1.8a] Kaparukha 80 -haya-gaja-radha-saha yamt
[i] 61 [,] sava-ghararavasa-pa PPPPya 82 savagaha-
nam ca karayitum 6 ' 1 bramhananani 1 ’ 4 ja(y)a- f "’
parihara[m] dadati , Arahata- 08 [.]
io vasuvijaya-'" [I.9] te ubhaya < ’ R -Praci-tate ,,! '
(raja-) nivasam 70 Mahavijaya' ’-pasadam karayati
athatisaya sata-sahasehi [.]
11. Dasame ca vase dada-ni?dhita (bhisa)mayo"
Bharadhavasa-pa ? nam' J ?. hi-Pyanam' 1
karapayati ,b [.J
60 Jayaswal, kaparukhe,
61 Jayaswal, sahayamte; Indraji, saha-yata.
*62 Prinsep, gharavasapa; Cunningham gharavasaya-aruilikagavaya; Indraji,
gharavasadham; Jayaswal, gaharavasa-panvesane agtnathiya. Nothing can be
definitely made out.
*63 Correctly read by Jayaswal.
*64 Correctly read by Indraji. Jayaswal, bambananam. The first letter is not
only ba but bra.
*65 Prinsep, jata ; Jayaswal, jatim partharam. The first letter is indeed a ja; the
second letter is uncertain. Jata-pariharam or jati-pariharam conveys a definite sense,
cf. Pali gabbha-pariharam. But I would like to read jaya'panharam. Cf. Papanca -
Sudani , pt. Ill, so ’pi yq pubba-rajubi brabmananam dinna-pariharo tarn
abapetva pakatt-niyameri eva akasi i tatba gabapattkanam.
# 66 Jayaswal, Arabata (ya?)
# 6y The beginning of the record of the 9th year cannot be traced. The last
four letters of 1 . 9 may be read as suvijaya. Jayaswal reads (g*)y a ( to )‘
*68 The first letter appears to be te; the second letter, u; the third, bha; and
the fourth ya, ha } or gha. May they not be read as te ubhaya? Jayaswal finally
reads k.i, manati.
*69 The choice lies between Praci-tate and Puti-tate, or between Puti-tate and
Puri-tate.
*7° Jayaswal, samnivasarn.
*71 Jayaswal, Mahavtjayam.
*72 Cunningham, datibhisara ; Jayaswal, darnda-samdbisamamayo, correct-
ing his previous readings damdasa-nadasa, mahadhita’ bbisamayo.
*73 Cunningham, pa na ; Indraji, pathanam; Jayaswal, pathanam,
74 Cunningham, mahayana; Jayaswal, mabt-jayanam .
75 Nothing can be definitely made out.
76 The concluding words of the record of the 10th year cannot be traced.
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela 467
2 77 ?????? tanam 78 mani-ratanani-saha
yati 7 '* [l.io] — ?? 8U puvaraja 81 -nivesitam Pithu-
dagadabha Nagale nekasayati 82 [,] janapada-
bhavanam 8,1 ca terasa-vasa-sata-katam bhidati 81
tamiradaha 8,3 -samghatam [.]
13. Barasame ca vase ?S(i)?ka(nam) 80 sa(ha)-
sehi 87 vitasayamto 88 Utarapadha-rajano [l.n]
Magadhanam 89 ca vipula(m) bbayam janeto
hathasam Gamgaya 90 payayati [,] Ma(gadham) ca
rajanam Baha(sa)timita(ni)' ui ” pade va(m)dapa(ya)-
77 The beginning of the record of the nth year cannot be traced.
78 Jayaswal, nirttiya-uyatanam , the propriety of which is not intelligible to
me. He finally reads p{a)yatanam.
79 Jayaswal, ° upalabhate. 80 Jayaswal, mamdam ca.
*81 Jayaswal, Avaraja, which must be discarded for the reason that the first letter
is by no means a; it is pH.
*82 Jayaswal, Pithumdam gadabha-namgalena kasayati. But it will be seen that
the letter is not na but nc, and that the scribe connects it with kasayati. The prq-
priety of Jayaswal’s reading depends upon the correctness of his reading Avaraja.
If one fails, the other fails. There is no reason why Kharavela should plough Pithuda
with an ass-plough, if it was founded by a former king of Kalinga.
83 Jayaswal, janasa dabhavanam , but he suggests that the intended reading is
{anapada-bhavanam .
*84 Sten Konow, terasa-vasasata-kata bh(i)dati; Jayaswal, terasa-vasasatikam
abhimdati, which is rather fantastic.
*85 Indraji, tamara-dehasamghdtam i Jayaswal, Tramira-desa-samghatam. The
choice really lies between -daha- and -deha-.
*86 Jayaswal, -hasa-ke. The intended word appears to be Swakanam.
*87 Jayaswal, sahasehi *88 Or, vitasayato. 89 Jayaswal, Magadhanam.
*90 Jayaswal, hat hi St*gamgiya(m ), abandoning his previous reading hathisu
Gamgaya , hathisu Gamgiya. The Maury a palace is called Sugahga in
the Mudra-raksasa , a Sanskrit drama of the 4th or of 6th century A.D. Jayaswal has
evidently tended to suggest a reading which will bear out the name of the palace as
given by Visakhadatta. Had the name of the palace been intended, the word would
have been either Sugange or Sugahgapasade , and not Gamgaya[m ], die locative
sing, form of the feminine stem, Gamga. Moreover, the r-stroke is absent, the word
is hathasam , a Sandhi of hat hi and asa . It is important to note that Prinsep read
hathasam gamgasa , and Cunningham, hathasam Gamgaya.
*903 Correctly read by Jayaswal.
Hathigumpba Inscription of Kharavela
ti [,] Nadaraja-jita 91 -Kalljmga-jana-sam(n)i(ve)-
sam 92 ?(sasa)ti [,] kitava-naya-nipu(n)ehi 93
Aga-Magadha-vasum nayati 91 [ 1 . 12]
tu[m] 93 ja(tha)ra-lakhila- 9b [go]purani 9r
siharani 98 nivesayati [,] sata-visikana[m] 99 pari-
harena 100 abhutamachariya(m) ca hathi-nava-
(tam) 191 pariharati [,] tinha 102 -haya-hathi-ratana-
maniko 101 Pamda-raja (abharanani) 191 muta-
mani-ratanani aharapayati idha sata-sa
... l05 [1. 1 3] sino vasi karoti [.]
14. Terasame ca vase supavata-vijaya-cake 100 Kumari-
pavate arahate 19 ' pakhina-samsitehi 108 kayya- 19 ''
-nisidiyaya yapujavakehi 119 raja-bhitim 1 1 1 cina-
vatani 112 vasasitani 113 pujaya-rata 1 1 1 -uvasa(ga)-
*91 Jayaswal, Namdarajariitam.
*92 Jayaswal, -jinam samnivesa. The /-stroke over ja is apparitional, it having
no organic connection with it.
*93 Jayaswal, gaha-ratananam paribarehi; Indraji, gaha-ratana-pariharehi.
*94 Jayaswal, neyati. 93 Jayaswal, katum. *96 Jayaswal, -Itkhila.
*97 Jayaswal, ( jatbara-hkhila ) -barani, which is meaningless.
*98 Jayaswal, siharani. *99 Correctly read by Jayaswal.
*100 Jayaswal, paribarehi.
*101 Prinsep, hatbi-navuna ; Cunningham, hathi-navena; Jayaswal, hatbi-nivasa,
correcting his previous reading bathi-navana.
*102 Jayaswal, denha. * 103 Correctly read by Jayaswal.
104 Jayaswal , cedani anekani.
105 The intended word seems to be sahasani. 106 Jayaswal, °caka - .
107 Read arahateht.
*108 Correctly read by Jayaswal.
*109 Or kaya. Generally read kaya. kayya or kaya is — kalya, or Pali kalla.
*110 The choice lies here between yapujavakehi and yapuravakebi.
Prinsep, yapuhavakehi; Cunningham, yapujakehi; Jayaswal, yapa-navakehi,
correcting His previous reading yapujavakehi .
*111 Obviously a mistake for raja-bhitinam.
*ii2 Obviously a mistake for cita-vatanafn, Pali, cinna-vatanam.
*113 Obviously a mistake for vasashanam. Jayaswal reads vasa-sitam.
*114 Jayaswal, pujdnurata-
4 6 9
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
(Khara)vela-sirina jivadeha 115 -??ka 110
[. ]IM [1-H]
icj. 9 ? sakata 120 -samana-suvihitanam ca
sata 121 -disanam na?nam 122 (sama)pasi(nam ) 123
(bhi)P ? 121 -samgh(i)yana(m) 12j arahata-nisidiya
samipe pabhare 120 varakara-samuthapitahi an(e)-
ka-yojanahitahi pakva-sisehi 127 sata-(sahasa)hi l2H
silahi sipaja 1 29 -thabha-(m)vadha-sayana(sa)-
nani 130 va 131 patalake 132 catare 133 ca vedu-
riya-gabhe thabhe 131 patithapayati panatariya - 13,1
-(sata-sahasehi) [,] (ma) khiya 13 t, -kala 137 -vochine 138
# H5 Prinscp, ]i...deta ; Cunningham jtvimaka.
*116 Jayaswal, - sirika . I am for sayika.
*nj Prinsep and Cunningham rikhita ; Jayaswal, parikkita , abandoning his
previous reading rakhita. Is it panikhata ?
1 18 The record of the 13th appears to have been closed here.
1 19 The beginning piece of I.16 is missing.
120 Jayaswal reads sakata. 121 Definitely sata , and not sava.
* 122 The choice lies between nantnam and hatanam , both of which are suggested
by Jayaswal.
*123 Cunningham rightly noticed four letters after na?nam , which he reads as
simpasa , while I propose to read samapasi. At first sight, they seem to yield the
reading tapasa. Jayaswal makes out tapasi-isinam.
*124 Left hitherto unnoticed. *125 Jayaswal, samgbayanam .
126 Jayaswal, pabbare. *127 Or, panatasisehi.
# i28 The reading seems to be certain.
# i29 Prinsep, sapapa ; Cunningham, bbagapa; Jayaswal, simbapa 0 .
*130 Prinsep, (sapapatha) -dhara si dhasaya; Jayaswal, (Simhapatha) - ram
Simdhalaya, which is quite fantastic.
13 1 The beginning piece of I.16 is lost.
*132 Prinsep, patalake; Cunningham and Indraji, patalake; Jayaswal, patalako.
133 Jayaswal, cataro. 134 Jayaswal, tbamhbe. 133 Jayaswal, panatariya.
*136 Prinsep ... riya ; Cunningham, ya; Indraji and Sten Konow, Mariya.
It is after a prolonged examination of the first two letters in stone and in the
facsimile that I came to detect that they are ma and kbi, and not ma and ri.
*137 The word must be read as kala, and not as kala. To read kale with
Indraji and Fleet is to go far away from kala } correctly read by Cunningham.
*138 Jayaswal, vochinam.
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
ca coyatha-amge 139 satikam 1 lu turiyam 111 upada-
(yati) [.]
Khema-raja sa [,] vadha 142 -raja sa [,] bhikhu-
raja sa [,] dhama-raja pasamto sunamto anu-
bhavamto kalanani [1. 16] — 113 guna-visesa-
kusalo sava-pasamda-pujako" 1 sava-devayatana-
sa(m)kara 11,1 -karako apatihata-caka -vahana 1
-balo caka-dharo 117 guta-cako pavata-cako rajisi-
vamsa-kula 1 18 -vini(sr)ito' 19 mahavijayo raja
Kharavela-siri [.]
2. TRANSLATION
Obeisance to Arhats, the Exalted Ones, obeisance to all
Siddhas, the Perfect Saints.
By His Graceful Majesty Kharavela, I ‘ ># the great Aira 1 ’ 1 king,
the Sovereign lord of Kalinga, 1 ’ 2 the scion of the Mahamegha
*139 Prinsep, ca coyatha agi; Cunningham, ca ceyatha age; Indraji, ca coyatha
age; Jayaswal, ca coyathi Amga-. The stone does not show any /-stroke over tha.
*140 Prinsep and Cunningham, satika; Indraji, satiku ; Sten Konow, satikam .
*141 I cannot but accept Jayaswal’s turiyam as correct reading.
142 Jayaswal, vadha. 143 The beginning piece of I.17 is lost.
144 Cunningham, pujako. 145 Jayaswal, samkhdra.
146 Jayaswal, caki-vahini-. 147 Jayaswal, caka-dhara
148 Jayaswal, rajasi - Vasu-kula~.
*149 Cunningham, vinigato. R. D. Banerji confirms the correctness of Jayaswal’s
reading.
150 Cf. Pali Kdlavela as the name of a Yakkha in the Mahavamsa, IX. 23; as the
name of a place in Fausboll’s Jataka> vol, VI, p. 30. Cf. also Sanskrit Karbela as
a personal name, Monicr Williams, Sanskrit English Diet., sub voce Karbela.
15 1 Jayaswal treats it as a patronymic derived from Ila. But the usual patro-
nymic from Ila is not A ila; it is Alley a. I am still inclined to think that it is the
same word as the Pali ayira, which is explained in the sense of sami. Cf. Fausboll,
Jdtaka, vol. VI, p. 300: ayiro hi dasassa janinda issaro. ayiro’ti sdmiko. Jayaswal’s
first note on aira ( JBORS vol. Ill, pt. IV, p. 434) seems more to the point:
“This word occurs in a Satavahana inscription and has been translated by M. Senart
by ‘noble’ ”.
152 In the inscription of his chief queen, Kharavela has been represented as
Kalin ga-cakavati, “the overlord of Kalinga.”.
470
16.
Hatbigumpha Inscription of Kbaravela 471
family, 1 ’ 3 the increaser of the Ceti Royal House, 1 ' 4 who is possessed
153 Mahameghavahana is a patronymic derived from Mahameghavahana , a
dynastic name similar to Satavahana. The Mahameghavahana kings of Kaliriga
including Kharavela were the contemporaries and powerful rivals of the Satakarnis
of Andhra. The inscription itself refers to a Satakarni who had his kingdom to
the west of Kaliriga. According to the Puranas , amongst the local dynasties which
arose during the Andhra period, there was the dynasty of Kosala (i.e., South Kosala)
who were commonly known as the Meghas (obviously a shortening from Megha-
vahana), who were very powerful and intelligent, and who were nine in number :
Kosalayam tu rajano bhavisyanti mahabalah ,
Megha iti samakhyata buddhtmanto navaiva tu .
— Pargiter, Dynasties of the Kali Age , p. 51.
154 Whether one reads Cetiraja or Cetaraja , the meaning is the same. Ceti —
Cedt, and Ceta — Cetiya, Skt. Caidya. In the Pali Vessantara-Jataka (Fausboll,
No. 547), Cetiyarattha denotes the same kingdom as Ceta-rattha. Rsi Brahmatithi
of the family of Kanva sings the praises of king Kasu, the Caidya, in a Vedic
hymn addressed to the Asvins ( RV . VIII. 5). Here the Cedi-king Kasu is repre-
sented as a powerful monarch who was capable of making a gift of rajas as slaves.
His soldiers were dressed in cuirasses of leather. In the Mahabharata , Adiparva,
the Kuru prince Vasu Uparicara is said to have conquered the beautiful and excel-
lent kingdom of the Cedis on the advice of the god Indra whose staunch worshipper
he was. His son Matsya by an apsara , named Adrika, founded the kingdom of
Matsya. His other sons, Brhadratha, Pratyagraha, and the rest also founded king-
doms. The Vayu-Purana repeats the tradition of the conquest of the Cedi kingdom
by Vasu, the Paurava. According to another account, the Kuru prince Vasu conquer-
ed Cedi, originally a Yadava kingdom, and established himself there, whence he came
to be known as Caidya — Uparicara. His capital was Suktimati (Sotthivati, accord-
ing to the Pali Cettya-Jataka, Fausboll, vol. Ill, pp. 434-61) on the river Suktimati.
His five sons were established in the five kingdoms of Magadha, Cedi, Kaus'ambi,
Karusa, and Matsya. According to the Cetiya-Jataka, however, among his five sons,
one who went to the east, founded Hatthipura (i.e., Hastinapura or Indraprastha);
one who went to the south, founded Assapura (i.e., Asvaka or Asmaka on the
Godavari); one who went to the west, founded Sihapura; one who went to the north*
founded Uttara-Paricala; and one who went to the north-west, founded Daddarapura.
The Mahabharata introduces us also to the most powerful but wreckless Cedi king
Sisupala, son of Damaghosa, who made an alliance with the great Jarasandha of
Magadha and made a common cause against the Yadavas and Pandavas. After
killing Sisupala, Krsna installed his (Sisupala’s) son Dhrstaketu in the sovereignty of
the Cedis. Dhrstaketu fought on the side of the Pandavas in the great battle of
Kuruksetra. According to the Agni-Purana (IV. 14), Sisupala was the son of
Damaghosa by Srutasrava, sister of Vasudeva, — a Satvata or Yadava princess. In
the Mahabharata , Udyogaparva (ch. 74), Sahaja of the Cedi dynasty is mentioned
among the 18 kings who by their great strength, ruined their friends and relations.
In the Asvamedhaparva of the same epic (chs. 83-84), we have mention of Sarabha
472 Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
of the noble and auspicious marks , 135 who is gifted with 158 the attri-
as a son of Sisupala, who. was defeated and subdued by Arjuna. The same epic
- groups the Cedis, in one context, with the Pancalas and the Kaikeyas; in another,
with the Kasis and the Karusas; in a third, with the Matsyas and the Karusas; in
a fourth, with the Karusas and the Kosalas; and in a fifth, with the Pancalas, the
Karusas and the Matsyas. The Bhismaparva (ch. 6) describes the Suktimati as one
of the rivers in Bharatavarsa.
In the Pali Ahguttara-nikaya (IV, pp. 252, 256, 260) and the Jaina Bhagavatb
sutra, Ceti, the land where the Cetis founded their kingdom and settled, is men-
tioned as one of the sixteen mahajanapadas. In the Pali list, the Cetis as a people
are grouped with the Vamsas or Vatsas. The Ceti kingdom with Sahajati (modern
Bhita) as its principal town is located to the east of Vatsa, the land of the Vatsas.
According to Professor D. R. Bhandarkar, the Ceta or Cetiya rattha corresponds
roughly to modern Bundelkhand. In the opinion of Rapson, Cedi occupied in
the post-Vedic period the northern portion of the Central Provinces.
With Pargiter Cedi lay along the south of Jumna. Rhys Davids inclines
to think ( Buddhist India , p. 26) that the Cetis, had two distinct setdements, one,
properly the older, was in the mountains, in what is now called Nepal; the other
probably a later colony, was near Kausambi to the east.
The inscriptions of the Kalacuri or Haihaya dynasty of Cedi go to prove that
the rulers of this dynasty assumed the tide of “Lords of Kalanjarapura and of
Tri-Kalinga, Kalanjara being the well-known hill-fort in Bundelkhand. For these
and other details regarding the Cedis, their kingdom and kings, see B. C. Law’s
Ancient Mid-Indian Ksatriya Tribes , ch. V; H. C. Raychaudhuri’s Political History
of Ancient India; Rhys Davids in the Cambridge History of India, vol. I, p. 84.
In the Hathigumpha inscription itself, Kharavela is connected with the Ceti
royal house, which may indicate that the Ceti kings had, in course of time, estab-
lished their suzerainty also in Kalinga. In it, he is represented as a scion of a line
and family of royal sages ( rajisi-vamsakula-vinisrita ) in spite of the fact that the
Cedi kings do not figure as rajarsis in their tradition preserved elsewhere. In the
Pali V essantara-Jdtaka Kalinga, Sivi and Cedi are described as three contiguous
kingdoms, the Sivis being matrimonially allied with the Cedis. It goes to show
that the way to the Himalayas, both from Kalinga and the Sivi kingdom lay
through the kingdom of the Cedis. The distance between the Sivi kingdom and the
Cedi is said to be 30 yojanas (about 240 miles). Mt. Suvannagiritala, the river
Kondmara, Mt. Anjanagiri, and the Brahmin village called Dunnavitthanalidanda
are interposed between Jettuttara, the capital city of the Sivis and the kingdom of
the Cedis. The Cetiya-fataka, on the other hand, describes the journey of a person
from Benares to the Cedi kingdom along a route through the hills, which was
risky owing to the mischievous activity of the pesanakd-coras.
*55 Mdbapurusa-laksanas according to the laksana-pithakas dr readers of
signs or inarks. Cf. Majjbima-nikaya, II, p. 134.
' 15® Whether one reads guna-upetena or gunopahitena, die meaning is the same.
.473
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
butes (of one capable) of subduing the earth extending as far as the
four seas , 157 were played for fifteen years the sports befitting the
young age of the prince with a handsome body of ‘fair brown
complexion .’ 1 ’ 8 Thereafter, for nine years, just the office of a
Crown Prince was administered by (His Royal Highness) who was
well-versed in (matters relating to) writing, coinage, accounting,
procedure, and approved principle of action, whose self was purified
by proficiency in all (Indian) ‘polite learning.’ 1 ’'' Having then com-
pleted twenty-four years, he who, as he waxed great, passed the
rest of his manhood in making notable conquests , 160 gained the high
state implied by the coronation of a great king in the third royal
dynasty of Kalinga , 161 in regular linear succession . 162
157 The adoption of Jayaswal’s reading luthita makes no difference to the sense.
158 Stcn Konow is led to think that “ Siri-kadara is the lover of Sri, i.e ., Krsna”,
and that “Kharavela’s boyish games are compared with Krsna’s pranks and sports in
Vrndavana”. This would seem too far-fetched to be acceptable. Here siri-kadara
is used as an adjective qualifying Kharavcla s sarira , and not his sports.
159 See for notes on lekha, rupa, etc., Barua, Old Brdhmi Inscriptions, pp. 240 f.;
Jayaswal, EL, vol. XX, pp. 81-82.
160 The word abhivijaya is used in this very sense in die Majjbima-nikaya.
Adopting Jayaswal’s reading vadhamana-sesayo Venabhivijayo, one must
translate the text: “(he who had been prosperous since his infancy (?) and who
(was destined) to have wide conquests as those of Vena.”
161 Jayaswal aptly observes: “In the third line the details about Kharavela’s
ancestry are made clear. He was born in the royal line of Ccti and was the overlord
of Kalinga, but the dynasty to which he belonged was the 3rd dynasty of the kings
of Kalinga”.
162 Jayaswal would have us understand by the word purisa-yuge ‘at the proper
age *of the man’. He says in so many words : “Evidently the throne had been
vacant and Kharavela ascended it after completing his 24th year. According to
the Brhaspati Sutra, for a prince playing and learning were enjoined up to the
24th year and after that, politics”. I differ, for the inscription clearly tells us
that he acted as yuvardja for nine years, from which it is difficult to surmise that
the throne had remained vacant. As for purisa-yuga , it is precisely in the sense of
regular or unbroken linear succession that the word has been used in the Majjhima-
nikaya, II, p. 75: Yasmim purisa-yttge vattamdne evarupassa kalydnassa ratthassa
samucchedo hoti \ so tesam antima-purtso hoti. In this context, Ruddhaghosa cx-
I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1 938
7
474
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
2. And as soon as he was anointed, in the very first year, (His
Majesty) caused the Kalinga-city Khibira 16,1 in which the gates,
walls and residential houses were damaged by stormy wind, to be
repaired, and caused the embankments o£ the cool tanks to be made,
and (also) caused the work of restoration of all the gardens to be
done at the cost of thirty-five hundred thousand (pieces of the
standard coin), and (thereby) pleased the subjects . 161
plains the word purtsa-yuge as signifying — vamsa-sambhave purisc, “in the time of
the person (who comes to reign) by linear succession.
The statement in the inscription admits of another rendering, namely “during
the third period of reign of the royal dynasty of Kalinga”, which, too, may be
supported by usages and explanations in Buddhist literature. First, the Lahta-
vistara mentions the following characteristics of an ideal royal family :
Purusayuga-sampannam tatkulam bhavati.
Purvapurusayuga-sampannam ca tatktilam bhavati.
Abhtjata-purusayuga-sampannam ca tatktilam bhavati.
Abhilaksita-purusayuga-sampannam ca tatkulam bhavati.
Mahesakhya-purusayuga-sampannam ca tatkulam bhavati.
“Such a family is remarkable for having a continuous succession of generations of
men. It has the contemporaneity of two previous generations. It has the con-
temporaneity of two living generations. It has the contemporaneity of two coming
generations. It has a continuous succession of mighty persons.”
Cf. Mahavastu, I, p. i.
Here the implication is that two generations living at the same time constitute
a period. In this very sense, Buddhaghosa explains the word purisa-yuga in the
Samanta-pasadika (I, p. 190). According to the Pali scholiast, the life-time
of a Buddha which also covers the career of his immediate disciples constitutes one
purisa-yuga or period, and the career of his immediate disciples and later followers
since his demise constitutes the second purisa-yuga or period. Similarly, the expres-
sion satta-pitamaha-yuga means the seven grandfathers, each grandfather standing
for a distinct period, the grandfather’s life-time including that of the father.
163 R. C. Panda takes the word to mean ‘springs’ ( The Mayurbhanj Gazette ,
J 93 ®» P- 1 ^)- Reading the text as Kalin ga-nagari-Khibira-tsitala-tadaga-padiyo bam -
dhapayati, Jayaswal translates it: “in the city of Kalinga (he) causes the erection of
the embankments of the lake (called after) Khibira Rsi, (and) of (other) tanks and
cisterns”. Note that according to grammatical construction, the adjectival com-
pound vata-vihata-gopura-pakara-nivesanam requires a noun, such as Kalimga-
nagari-Khibiram, after it. Cf. haya-gaja-nara-radha-bahulam qualifying dam-
dam.
164 Jayaswal translates “and (he) gratifies, the People”.
475
Hatbigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
3. And in the second year, not (at all) bringing Satakarni 165
into (his) thought, (His Majesty) caused a multitudinous army (con-
sisting of) horses, elephants, foot-men and chariots to march in
a western direction, and with the aid of the army that reached (the
bank of) the Krsnavena (river), 186 struck terror into the city of Asika
(Musika?).
4. Again, in the third year, (His Majesty), who was a master
of the science of music — the Gandharva lore, caused the capital to be
entertained by the display of combats, 10 ' dancing, singing, and
instrumental music, and (no less) by the arrangement made for festi-
vities and convivial gatherings.
5. Likewise, in the fourth year, (His Majesty caused to be
done his duty to) the home of the Vidyadharas, 188 founded by the
former kings of Kalinga, which was not invaded before, compelled
165 According to Jayaswal, Satakarni referred to in this inscription is “evidently
Sri Satakarni, the third king of the Satavahana dynasty, the husband of queen
Nayanika of the Nanaghat inscriptions in the Junnar Taluk of the Poona district.”
For the palaeographic similarity between the inscription of Kharavela and those Of
Nayanika, queen of Sri Satakarni, sec R. D. Banerjee's monograph — Paleography of
the Hathigumpha and Nanaghat Inscriptions, Memoir , ASB., vol. X. All that the
inscription itself clearly proves is that one king Satakarni was “the only powerful
rival on the western border of Kalinga,” and that his kingdom included the city of
Asika (Skt. Rsika or Arsika) on the river Krsnavena. The Nasik cave inscription of
queen Gautami expressly mentions Asika as one of the places included in the domi-
nions of the Satakarnis. Sec vol. VIII, p. 60. Asika heads the list of places.
166 Accoiding to the Markandeya-Purana; LXVII, 26-27, the Krsnavena, like
the Godavari, the Bhimaratha, and a few other rivers, took its rise from the Vindhya
range :
Godavari-Bbimaratba-Krsnavenya tatbapara
Vmdbyapada vintskranta ityeta sandnttama .
It is identified with the modem Wain-ganga which has for its main tributary the
Kanhan, the two streams uniting in the district of Bhandara.
167 dapa is either the darpa-krida mentioned in the Artbasastra, III. 3. 38, or the
davakamma or ‘comics’ mentioned in the Pali Mahaniddesa, p. 379.
168 The home of the Vidyadharas appears to have been situated somewhere in
the Central Provinces. The inscription seems to indicate that it was invaded or
encroached upon at the time by the two neighbouring ruling tribes, viz., the
Rathikas and Bhojakas, and accordingly their chiefs were punished by Kharavela.
4 7 6
Hatbigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
all the Rathikas and Bhojakas 169 who were deprived of their wealth
and jewels, whose royal insignia consisting of umbrellas and vases
had been cast away, who were abandoned by good brahmins (?),
and whose crowns were rendered meaningless, to bow down at (his)
feet.
6. And then, in the fifth year, (His Majesty) caused the
canal opened out by King Nanda 170 three hundred (or 103) years
back to be brought into the capital from the Tanasuliya road. 171
169 Jayaswal’s note on the Rathikas and Bhojakas is worth quoting here :
"Rathika-Bbojake stand for the Maharathis and Mahabhojas of Satavahana inscrip-
tions of the same period at Kanheri and Bedsa. The Rathikas are mentioned as
Ristikas in the Girnar, Rathikas in the Shahbazgarhi and Rathakas in the Manschra
version of the edict of Asoka In the 13th edict we find the Bhojakas men-
tioned with the Pitinikas ” For the use of the word Rathika in the general
sense of local chiefs or subordinate potentates, see the Yerragudi copy of Asoka’s
Minor Rock Edict, Ahguttara-nikaya , III, pp. 76, 78, 300, and Barua’s Old Brakmi
Inscriptions, p. 21 1.
170 Jayaswa! points out: "King Nanda is mentioned in two places in this
inscription, once in 1.6 and again in I.12. The date in this line apparently refers to
an era founded by king Nanda. His mention in connection with Magadha fixes
his identity with the Magadhan Nanda dynasty.” There is no evidence as yet to
prove that any king of the Maurya or of the Nanda dynasty who may be called a
predecessor of Asoka’s had either conquered or held sway over any part of Kalinga.
The clear evidence of the 13th Rock Edict of Asoka belies that theory or surmise.
Kalinga had remained unconquered ( avijita ) till the 7th year of Asoka’s reign.
We need not attach any importance to the name Nanda because it finds mention
in this inscription which is but a royal panegyric composed to flatter Kharavela.
Mr. R. C. Panda seems to have misconstrued the account of Mcgasthenes about the
connection of Sandrakottos (Candragupta Maurya), or, a priori, that of his Nanda
predecessor, with Prasii and Gangarida. In the Indika, Candragupta Maurya is des-
cribed as the king of Prasii or Pracya, which excluded Gan gar ides (McCrindle’s
Ancient India, Frag. I, art, 37). It is evident from Asoka’s edicts that die Province
of Kalinga in his time had two main political divisions, the southern with its head-
quarters at Samapa in Ganjam district, and the north-eastern with its head-quarters
at Tosali, the seat of the Maurya Viceroy.
1 71 This statement in the Hathigumpha inscription is not without its significance.
The location of the capital of Kharavela’s Kalinga kingdom is to be determined not
only with reference to the river Pract on which he had built the Great-victory Palace
in his 9th regnal year but with reference as well to the Tanasuliya Road from which
4 77
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kbaravela
7. And in the sixth year, (His Majesty) while displaying his
royal prosperity, 172 bestowed (unprecedented) favours on the inhabi-
tants of towns and districts 1 ' 3 by remitting all taxes and duties
amounting to many hundred thousand (pieces of the standard coin).
8. And in the seventh year, (His Majesty caused) compact
groups of hundreds of horses , 1 ' ' (portable) ‘diamond chambers’ and
warriors (to proceed to) the tranquil spot adjoining the foot of the
Samataka (hill). 173 (?) 176
9. And in the eighth year, having stormed with a mighty
army (the fortress of) Gorathagiri 177 of invulnerable wall, (His
Majesty) brought a pressure to bear upon Rajagrha, and the Yavana
king Pmt???? 1 ' 8 retreated to Mathura 17 ' 1 in order to release the
the canal opened out by king Nanda was extended up to the capital of Kalinga.
I still think that the Tanasuliya Road was no other than a road connecting the
Tosali of Asoka with the Kalin ganagara of Kharavela.
172 The word which definitely occurs in the inscription is rajaseyam (Skt. raja-
srtyam), and not rajasiiyam to justify Jayaswal’s interpretation.
1 73 None should so stretch with Jayaswal the sense of the two words, Pora and
Janapada, as to obtain from it the idea of a ‘City-corporation’ and a ‘Realm-
corporation’.
174 According to Jayaswal’s reading — Satamam ca vasam pasasato , the transla-
tion shall be : “And while he was reigning for the seventh year”, or simply, “In
the seventh year”, or simply, “In the seventh year of his reign.”
175 I am just imagining here that, perhaps, in his seventh regnal year, Khara-
vela organized a pompous religious procession for visiting the holy spot on Mt.
Samataka or Sameta (modern Pareshnath hill), which may not at all be correct.
176 Both the text and translation offered are hypothetical. Nothing can or
should be construed definitely from either. Jayaswal would make out a text yield-
ing such a fact as that in the seventh year of Kharavela’s reign, his famous wife of
Vajiraghara ‘obtained the dignity of auspicious motherhood’, which, on the face of
it, is too fantastic to deserve credence.
1 77 The same as what is called Khalatika-pavata in the Barabar Hill cave inscrip-
tions of Aioka, and Pravaragiri in some of the mediaeval Sanskrit inscriptions.
Modern, Barabar hills.
178 The name of the Yavana king cannot be definitely made out. Even it is
uncertain whether it consists of three or six syllables.
179 Mathura was till then under the sway of the Greek kings.
47 8
Hathigumpba Inscription of Kharavela
troops and vehicles restlessly moving 180 on account of the uproar 181
of reprisal on His (Majesty’s) part 182 returned (to Kalinga),
marched back with Kalpavrksa, the Wishing Tree, burdened with
foliage, and (the troops) of horses, elephants and chariots, (did some-
thing for) all householders, and to captivate all (he) offered the gift
of victory to the Brahmins, (offered something to) the Arhata
(recluses)
10. And in the ninth year, (His Majesty) caused the royal
residence Mahavijaya-prasada, the “Great-Victory-Palace ”, to be
built on both the banks of the Praci 18 ' 1 at the cost of thirty-eight
hundred thousand (pieces of the standard coin).
1 1 . And in the tenth year, well-read and experienced in the
principles of polity, (His Majesty) proceeded on a campaign for the
conquest of countries in Bharatavarsa ,M (?)"'■’
12. And in the eleventh year, (His Majesty)
went in procession with jewels and gems caused
the grassy overgrowth of Prthudaka, 18b founded by a former
180 Adopting the reading sambita , Jayaswal translates it — ‘demoralised'.
181 Whether one reads panadena or samnadena, the meaning is the same.
182 Whether the reading is etmam or ctina, the sense remains the same.
183 It is still an open question whether the Great- victory-Palace was built in
the then capital of Kalinga or elsewhere. The record of the 9th year shows that it
was built on both the banks of the Praci, an ancient river, the nearest distance of
which from Bhubaneswar is 12 to 13 miles. This river, as pointed out by Mr. R. C.
Panda, traverses a course of 30 miles before it empties itself into the Bay of Bengal.
Both the banks of the Praci abound in old ruins of temples, wells and tanks, and
in mounds that await excavation. I am not, however, quite sure of the reading
of the name of Praci. The intended name may as well be Puti or Puri.
184 Here as Jayaswal aptly points out, the name Bharatavarsa is not used to
denote the whole of India but a certain portion of it. It excludes, for instance,
the region called Uttarapatha.
185 Nothing can be definitely made out from this record of the 10th year.
186 According to Jayaswal’s reading, the name of the place is Pithumda which is
no other than what is called Pihunda in the Uttaradhyayana-sutra. Pithumda is pro-
bably the city ‘mentioned by Ptolemy as Pi tundra.’ According to Ptolemy,
Pitundra was a city in the upper part of the Coromandel coast.’
479
Hathigumfha Inscription of Kharavela
king 187 to be let out into the Langala (river) 1 * 8 and destroyed the
accumulation of dark swamps 189 that grew up in thirteen-and-
hundred years (and) became a cause of anxiety to the country.
13. And in the twelfth year, with the aid of thousands of
the Sivis (?), (His Majesty) produced consternation among the
rulers of Uttarapatha, 191 ’ while generating an immense fear among
the people of Magadha, caused the elephants and horses to
drink in the Ganges, 1 ’ 1 and compelled Brhaspatimitra, 192 the king of
of the Magadha people, to bow down at his feet, (did something in
187 Jayaswal forcibly reads Avaraja and explains it as meaning the king of the
Avas or Andhras.
188 The sharp difference between the two readings offered by Jayaswal and
myself lies in the fact that according to one, Kharavela caused Pithumda, founded
by an Ava or Andhra king, to be ploughed with an ass-plough (i.e., to be utterly
destroyed), and according to the other, he caused Prthudaka, founded by a former king
of Kahhga, to be reclaimed. According to my reading, for which credit must go
rather to Sylvan Levi, the Nagala, Namgala or Langala was the name of a river,
the river Nagavali bearing also the name of Langulia. Sec for details, Barua's Old
Brahmi Inscriptions, pp. 196 ff.
189 According to Jayaswal’s reading Tramira-desa-samghaiam , the rendering
is: “the confederacy of the Tramira (Dramira) countries.”
190 According to the Kavya-mtmamsa , p. 93, Prthudakat paratab Uttarapathah.
“Uttarapatha is (the north-western region) which lay beyond Prthudaka (near
Th a ncs war) '. Dhammapala in his commentary on the Petavatthu , locates Mathura
in LJttarapatha ( Uttara-Madhura-Uttarapathe ). According to the Mahabharata,
XII. 207. ^3, the Yavanas, Kambojas, Gandharas, Kiratas, and Barbaras were all
peoples of Uttarapatha.
1 91 Neither the reading nor the grammatical form of the word Gam gay a justi-
fies Jayaswal’s or Dr. Sten Konow’s suggestion that here is a reference to the palace
of Candragupta Maurya which Visakhadatta, the author of the Mudraraksasa, knew
to be Suganga. The reference is obviously to Pataliputra, the last capital of
Magadha which was on the Ganges. See McCrindle’s Ancient India, Frags.
XXV-XXVI.
192 All the arguments hitherto put forward by Jayaswal for the identification of
Brhaspatimitra, the contemporary king of Magadha, with Pusyamitra, the founder
of the Sunga-Mitra dynasty are plausible but unconvincing. He may certainly be
identified with Brhaspatimitra, nephew of king Asadhasena of Ahicchatra, during
whose reign the Pabhosa caves were excavated and donated.
480 Hathigumpba Inscription of Kharavela
connection with) the settlements of the Kalinga people subjugated
by king Nanda, carried the wealth of Anga and Magadha with
the aid of' persons skilled in clever tactics, caused to be erected
towering temples and gates with figures of the goddess of Luck in
their niches, procured at the cost of a hundred visas 10:1 (of gold) the
rare and wonderful trappings 1 ” 4 of elephants, the king of Pandya,
rich in mettled horses, elephants and jewels and gems, supplied
here hundreds and thousands of apparel (?), pearls, gems and jewels,
subdued (some people).
14. And in the thirteenth year, on the Kumari hill 10 ’ in the
well-founded realm of victory, 1 " 1 were excavated 107 the jivadebasra-
yikas' n by His Graceful Majesty Kharavela, devoted to the worship
of those who depended on royal patronage, 100 those who had fulfilled
their (religious) vows, 200 (and) those sought shelter during the rains 2 " 1
for use as comfortable resting places 202 by the Arhata (recluses), the
cause of whose future gliding in the course of transmigration had
193 The visa is a measure, of which two varieties, viz. Kataki and Bfdasorcc, are
prevalent in Orissa up till now.
194 The word navata or navata means trappings of elephants. Jayaswal reads
nivasa and equates it with nirvasa, which, as he points out, is used in the Sukraniti
in the sense of an enclosure for entrapping elephants. The correctness of this inter-
pretation depends upon his reading of the next word as parisara, which is evidently
\ panharati , a verb having also haya , hathi , and ratana-mdnx'ka for its objects.
195 Modern, Udayagiri, the Khandagiri hill being referred to in the inscription
of Udyotakesari as Kumdra-parvata.
1 96 supavata-vijaya-cake—supravartta-vijaya-cakre.
197 I assume the word to be panikkata.
198 i.e. } the caves serving as shelters for living selves.
199 rajabhitini=zraja-bhrtinam.
200 cina-vatani— Pali cinnavatanam , Jayaswal interprets it in the sense of ‘China
clothes’ ( Cma-vastra ), which is far from correct.
20 1 vasdsitani — varsasritdndm .
202 kayya — kdya or kalya , Pali kalla — tuttha. kayyanisidi — seems to be just
another word for Anoka’s tuthayatandni.
Hathigumpba Inscription of Kharavela 481
been greatly extenuated 203 (and) who were (there) for fulfilling
the yapa (Rainy season vow). 201
15. For the honoured recluses of well-established reputation 2 "''
and the Jnatrkas (?) 2nt viewing all things alike (and) the monks (?)
belonging to (different) orders (and) coming from a hundred direc-
tions, with hundreds and thousands of stones quarried out of excel-
lent quarries (and) collected from (an area extending over) many
yojanas by expert heads, 201 (His Majesty caused) indeed (to be made)
sleeping-and-sitting-accomodations 208 fitted with artistic pillars (?)
on a slope near the Arhata resting place, 200 and caused the columns
to be set up in a beryl-set hall with an ornamental courtyard 210 at the
cost of seventy-five hunderd thousand (pieces of the standard coin),
and in sixty-four panels, 2 " intersected with sculptures, 212 caused to be
produced (the scenes of) peaceful music. 213
203 pakhinasamsttehi — praksina-samsrtaih. 204 yapujavakeht^yapa-udyapakaih.
Jina Vijaya Suri inclines to think that the Jaina recluses referred to in the ins-
cription belonged, in all likelihood, to the Yapana-samgha.
203 Reading the word as sukata-samana-suvihitanam , Jayaswal translates it:
“The monks of good deeds and who have fully followed (the injunctions).” Accord-
ing to my reading, sakata — Pali sakkata. For suvihitanam , cf. Asoka’s RE. VII:
yesam va pi samvihitanam.
206 The reading is either natanam or haninam . Accordingly the rendering must
be either the jnatrkas or the wise.
207 Or, men with bent heads, ( panata-sisehi ). Jayaswal reads tapasa-isinam
samghayanam, and translates it: “a Council of the wise ascetics and sages” etc. I
think the statement is not intended to say that Kharavela brought together the
sramanas and wise ascetics in a Council convened for the purpose.
208 Pali sendsanam. See Vdli-English Diet., for the technical meaning of the
word. Jayaswal reads nisayani (“ shelters ”).
209 According to Jayaswal, “near the Relic Depository of the Arhat.” I do not
think the reference is to the Rani Nur on the Udayagiri hill but to some other
edifice not far from it.
210 Jayaswal reads patalako caturo (“four columns”), in which case the reading
would have been patalakd caturo.
21 1 According to Jayaswal, “of sixty-four (letters).”
2r2 The word makhiya is to be derived from makha or mankka, which signifies,
according to the Jaina Bhagavati siitra , a picture in a frame
213 turiya = Skt. tiirya.
I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1 938
8
482 Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
16. The king of security 214 was he, the king of prosperity, 210
the king of renunciation, 216 the righteous king, 217 (capable of) per-
ceiving, hearing and experiencing things that are conducive to
welfare 218 was His Graceful Majesty 210 Kharavela, the mighty con-
queror, the upholder of the realm of royal command, the protector
of the realm of royal command, the repairer of all abodes of the
gods, 22 " the worshipper of all sects, 221 accomplished by virtue of the
possession of certain special qualities. 222
3. OLD ORIYA MANUSCRIPT
The slokas cited from an Oriya Manuscript by Jayaswal in
JBORS., 1917, p. 482, and reproduced by Dr. Sten Konow in Acta
Orientalia, vol. I, and also by me in my Old B rah mi Inscriptions ,
p. 183, have misled the world of scholars. No credence is to be
placed on it on the authority of Jayaswal’s statement that the MS.
is lying unedited in the archives of the Indian Museum, Calcutta.
The MS. is no other than that of the Brahmanda-purana. It was
the property of Pandit Chintamani Misra of Bhubaneswar who was
both a Sanskrit composer and an expert caligraphist. The relevant
214 According to Jayaswal, “the king of peace.”.
215 Vadharaja or vadharaja may also be rendered : “the king of experience.”
216 Literally, “the king of the bhiksus ”
217 See the Rdjavagga, Ahguttara-nikdya, for the description of duties of a
righteous king.
218 The five mahakalyanas, according to the Jainas, consist of the Descent, Birth,
Initiation, Attainment and Final Deliverance in the life-history of a Jina. But the
kalyanas in this inscription may be taken to represent such good principles of human
action as those mentioned by Asoka in his Pillar edicts.
219 Jayaswal translates simply by “the prosperous.”
220 The epithet sava-devdyatana-samkara-karaka is important as indicating that
various temples of popular Hindu deities had then existed in Kalihga. As a Jaina
king, Kharavela had not taken the initiative in erecting but helped others only in
repairing them.
221 Here he followed in the footsteps of Asoka. See Rock Edict XII.
222 Jayaswal appropriately renders it: “accomplished in extraordinary virtues.”
Hatbigumpha Inscription of Kbaravela 483
portions of the MS. were kindly read out to me by his son, the
present owner of it. In it, Kharavela figures as the national hero
of Kalinga. He is credited with the erection of the Bhubanewar
temple, the excavation of Bindu Sarovar, and the conquest of Nepal
and many other places in India, northern and southern, eastern and
western. All that I can or should say at present regarding this MS.
is that before it is subjected to a careful scrutiny and passed by a
body of experts as ancient and authentic, its evidence must not be
brought in to bear upon the historical interpretation of the Hathi-
gumpha inscription or any part thereof.
4. RESULTS
The nett results of this revised reading and interpretation of
the Hathigumpha inscription are substantially the same as those
obtained before. The changes 111 reading in several instances are
not such as to yield or suggest a different sense. Kharavela’s per-
sonal history, too, remains much the same as outlined in my Old
Brabmi Inscriptions. Among the new points to be noted in this
edition, the first is the name of the capital of Kalinga. The inscrip-
tion may be taken to mention Khibira as the name of the capital,
or more accurately, that of the city of Kalinga. Unfortu-
nately, this name is not met with either in literature or in any of
the inscriptions. The location of the capital will remain a matter
of dispute up till the discovery of a definite evidence setting the
question at rest. But one will look in vain for the site of the capital
of Kharavela’s kingdom in the south, whether in Kalingapatam or
near Chicacole. The inscription itself furnishes us with two data,
only one of which is definite, while the other is tentative. It re-
cords the extension of the canal opened out by king Nanda into the
city of Kalinga from the Tanasuliya Road. Here, too, our diffi-
culty is that we do not know the specification of the road in ques-
tion. Apparently Tanasuli is the same name as Tosali. though
4 8 4
Hatbigumpha Inscription of Kharavela
both in the earlier inscriptions of Asoka and in the later inscriptions
of the Ikkhakus at Nagarjuni-konda the spelling of the name is
Tosali. Kharavela had built a new royal palace on both the banks
of the river Praci, the nearest distance of which from Bhubaneswar
is io to 12 miles. But there is nothing to show definitely that the
palace was built in the city of Kaliriga itself. The statement can
at the most support a presumption in favour of the location of the
capital of Kalinga in Kharavela’ s time somewhere on the banks of
the Prad, and not far from Bhubaneswar and the Udayagiri and
Khandagiri caves.
Brhaspatimitra was certainly the contemporary king of
Magadha, presumably also of Anga. A Yavana king was powerful
in the region of Mathura, whose name was doubtfully suggested
by Dr. Sten Konow to be Dimita and definitely read by Jayaswal as
Dimita and equated with Demetrius. The name of the Greek king
is still to be ascertained. It does not seem to be any of the earlier
Greek kings of Mathura.
The reading Muriya-kala must be ruled out of order, as
the letters clearly yield the reading makhiya-kala instead. It is only
by a confusion between the Pali Sangayana and the inscriptional
word Sanghiyana or Sanghayana that Jayaswal was led to believe
that Kharavela convened a council of the Jainas. It is also by a
misinterpretation of the meaning of the statement coyatha-amge
satikam turiyam upadayati that he came to suggest that Kharavela
“compiled expeditiously the text of the sevenfold Amgas of the
sixty-four (letters).’’ The statement intends mentioning certain
scenes of music produced among the decorative sculptures in an
edifice which was erected at the cost of seventy-five hundred
thousand coins.
The record of the twelfth year has been misread by Jayaswal
so as to show that it actually mentions the name of the Maurya
Palace which is described in the Mudraraksasa by the name of
Hathigumpba Inscription of Kharavela 485
Suganga. Similarly, the misreading of Kalihgajana-samnivesa for
Kalihga-jina-samnivesa led Jayaswal to think that king Nanda took
away “the image of the Jina of Kalihga’’ which is far from the
historical truth.
In 1 . 16 (may be, in the record of the 14th regnal year),
Kharavela speaks of a certain edifice which he had built on a slope
in the neighbourhood of the resting place of the Arhatas with
hundreds and thousands of stones collected from the best of quarries
from an area extending over many yojanas. Jayaswal has taken it
to be a reference to the Rani Nur excavated on a slope of the
Udayagiri hill. But this would seem rather wide of the mark, in-
asmuch as the Rani Nur is just a highly ornamented cave excavated
in a single piece of rock or boulder, and not an edifice with hundreds
and thousands of separate pieces of stone. The reference must,
therefore, have been to some other edifice in the vicinity of the
Udayagiri hill. It is not unlikely that some such edifice was built
by him at Bhubaneswar. It may even some day be proclaimed that
Kharavela was the builder of the first great temple at Bhubaneswar.
Anyhow, his statement concerning the edifice on a slope near the
Udayagiri hill awaits a careful elucidation.
B. M. Barua
Ohinese-Indian Contacts
[PRIOR TO THE LATTER HALF OF THE FIRST CENTURY |
To the present time, so far as the writer is aware, the subject
whose title appears above has not been dealt with, for its own sake
alone. Most of the general works on Chinese and Indian history
have been satisfied to refer to such a work as the Alilindapanha, or
to the Memoirs of Chang Ch’ien and thereby leave the impression
that there was a considerable amount of intercourse between the two
countries too detailed to be further outlined. A few of these works
have resorted to linguistics to further illustrate their point. In addi-
tion to such general works, there have been numerous studies
conducted on the relations of China with Rome on the
one hand, and the relations of India with Greece and Rome on the
other. Such studies make greater use of the Indian-Chinese impli-
cations than the general histories, yet one cannot but feel that such
references are wholly secondary to the point involved in these works
and so, in many cases are rather carelessly investigated. Only one
important contribution of a comprehensive nature has been made to
this subject to date, namely Konow’s introduction to his volume of
the Corpus Inscription nm Indicarum }
Roughly speaking, the first hand sources at our disposal can be
divided into three chief groups, namely, Indian, Classical (Greek
and Roman), and Chinese. Of these, the Indian sources possess
little practical value because of the chronological uncertainty involved
i The present writer does not propose ! to bring forward new material of
recent discovery in this short paper, but to correlate the widely scattered material
which has previously been brought to light, chiefly through purely linguistic
research. There will, therefore, be no attempt to do more than compare linguistic
evidence where conclusions have been disputed.
Chinese-lndian Contacts prior to first century 487
in all of them. 2 The Classical evidence, 1 may be divided into two
categories as follows: (1) Accounts of historians, geographers, and
traders; (2) Literary allusions. As is the case with the Indian
sources, the entire value of these Classical texts hangs upon the
correct interpretation of certain words. Chief among these are the
words Seres and S erica. This, Thinae Tzinitza, and Sinae are others
occurring less frequently.
The words Seres and S erica are used most often and, more im-
portant, they are used by sources dating earlier than the Christian
era. The word Serica is commonly accepted as the Greek and Latin
equivalent for China, while Seres refers to the inhabitants of Serica,
or the Chinese. Therefore Serica, derived from Ser (silk), would
mean originally silk-cloth country. No one has seriously attacked
this etymology and it has been repeated in substantially the same
formula as now quoted front Coedes. 1
“Le Chinois See, le Coreen Sir. lc Mongol Sirkek, et lc Mandchou Sirghe >ont
lcs noms de la soic.” 3 4 5 6
But on the other hand, while the above etymology has not been
attacked, there have been strong exceptions taken to certain specific
passages in which the word Seres is employed/' questioning, for ins-
tance, the usage of Seres when applied by Pliny to “some Seres of
unusual height, who had red hair, blue eyes, and harsh voices,” and
who lived, “beyond the Ernodi mountains.”
2 I am speaking of those sources which carry the words etna , cmapatta,
kauseya and its Pali equivalent kosseyam etc. The chief literary works in question
are the Mahabharata, Kautilya’s Arthasastra, the Mtlindapahha , and the Digha
Nikaya. Other works in which cina etc. appear are unquestionably of later date
than the ist. century A.D.
3 Classical sources are chiefly contained in George Coedes, Textes d’ Auteurs
Grecs et Latins relatifs a l Extreme-Orient , Paris, 1910.
4 Ibid., Introduction, x, n. 1.
5 See also J. G. Frazer, Pausanias Description of Greece , IV, no.
6 J. Kennedy, Seres or Cheras (JRAS.> Apl. 1904), 359-362.
4 88
Chinese-lndian Contacts prior to first century
Further illustration of the unsatisfactory character of the impli-
cations of the Classical references which depends solely upon the
words Seres and Serica may be illustrated from the following state-
ment of Alfred Herrmann/
“Folgende Autoren identifiziercn Serica vorviegend mit dem Tarimbecken
(Chines. Tartarei, Ost Turkestan): J. Hager, Nnmismatique chinoise , 137; Sylvain
de Sacy, Magasin encyclopedtque 3 III, Juin 1803, C. Ritter, Erdkunde VII, 339;
A. Cunningham, JASB XVI, 1847, 9 % ; Ch. Lassen, Indtsche Altertumskunde , 2.
1847, 340; F. V. Rich cofen, China , I, 479; VhGesE, 1877, 118; J. L. Dutrcuil dc
Rhins ct F. Grenard, a.a.O. II, 1898, 27ft.
Fiir Nordchina, erklaren sich ausser L. J. Deguignes ( s.S. 20, Anm, 3); }. T.
Reinaud, ‘Relations politique et commercialcs dc l’cmpire Romain avcc I’Asie
Orientale’; JA., VI, seric I, 186, 335: H. Kiepcrt, Atlas Antiquus, Tab, II (Maass-
tab 1 : 40 Mill.), 1894.
Mehr an Westchina dcnkt; P. Vidal de la Blache, Les votes de commerce dans
la geographie de Ptolemee; MemAcInscr. 1896, 480.
Andere Bearbeiter rechnen zu Serica nicht allein China, sondern auch grosse
Teile der Mongolei bis nach Sibirien : K. Mannert, Geogr. der Gretchen and Romer ,
IV, 300; Th. W. Kingsmill, ‘The Serica of Ptolemy and its ancient Inhabitants’.
N. China Branch RAS. XIX, 2. 44-60; ders. Ancient Tibet and its Frontages , ebda
XXXVIII, 1906, 21-54. E. Gerini,, ‘Early Geography of Indo-China,’ JRAS., 1897,
557 ff.; E. F. Berlioux, ‘Les premiers voyages dcs Europeens dans I’Asic Centralc ct
au pays des Seres,* Bull, de la Societe de geographie de Lyon , XV, 1898, 5-80.”
This disagreement among nineteenth century scholars has in
no wise been narrowed down in the twentieth. Herrmann himself,
writing in 1910, refused to commit himself bevond saying that
western knowledge of the East prior to Ptolemy was so imperfect as
to make impossible any geographical location of Serica. Perhaps the
only safe conclusion that one can make on this subject is that since
the Graeco-Roman world got foreign silk from the East and named
the Eastern people from this commodity, the people they called Seres
were either all or one of the people who used such a name (i.e.
Chinese, Manchus, Mongols, Koreans) for silk. The only excep-
tion taken to this view, if one omits Kennedy’s Cheras, is that the
7 Herrmann, Die alien Seidenstrassen zwischen China und Syrian, 20, n. 4.
Chinese-Indian Contacts prior to first century
489
country of Kasmir is meant, as was held by Gosslin in 1813 and by
Vivien de St. Martin in i860. 8
The second group of Greek words, This, Thinae,' Tzinitza, ' 0
and Sinae, 11 have not led to as many differences of opinion as Seres
and Serica, though even here there is some dispute. Tzinitza and
Sinae are used by writers too late to have a bearing on our period
and besides have been identified variously as Burma, North China,
and Yunnan.’ 2
The Peri-plus Erythraei Mari, in which the words This and
Thinae occur, is usually dated in the last quarter of the first century
A.D. and so may be regarded as a primary source relating directly
to our period. Schoff identifies This with the north-west Chinese
state of Ch’in, and Thinae with its capital Hsien-yang, later
Ch’ang-an and Si-ngan-fu. This identification has not been serious-
ly challenged and the contents of the original text bear it out.
The various authors and works mentioning the Seres and Serica
have already been enumerated by Coedes.
The third division, the Chinese source material, again hinges
upon linguistic interpretation of certain words and names. These
names are Chi-pm (Ki-pin), T’ien-chu, and Shen-tu. 13 Chi-pin ,
which name occurs most frequently has been variously identified
with Kasmir,” Kabulistan,” and with a less defined region some-
where north-west of India. 11 ’ Internal evidence of the Ch len Han
8 Herrmann, Die altcn Scidenstrasscn Zwiscben China unci Syrien, 20-21.
9 Found only in the Peri pin* Erythraei Mari .
10 Ptolemy s Geography. 1 1 Cosmas Indthoplcustes .
12 Schoff, Periplus of the Erythraean Sea , 273 ff.
13 I am indebted for my Romanizations of Chinese characters to the aid of
my friend and colleague Dr. Knight Biggerstaff.
14 Edouard Chavannes, Les Pays d'Occident d’apres le Heoii Han Chen,
(Toting Pao, Serie II, viii, 1907, 175).
13 A. Wylie. Notes of the Western Regions, trans. from the Tseen Han
Shoo , Book 96, pt. 1, {Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain
and Ireland , x, 1881, 33-35-)
16 Sten Konow. Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum , II, pt. 1, xxiii-xxiv.
I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1 938
9
qyo Chinese-Indian Contacts prior to first century
Shu, which contains the earliest mention of Chi-pin, suggests the
third region as the safest identification, because the Chinese of this
period hardly seem to have been sufficiently intimate in their know-
ledge of trans-Pamir countries to have used a term like Chi-pin for
any region of well marked political boundaries, particularly of such
contracted boundaries as either Kasmir or Kabulistan.
The names T’ien-chu and Shen-tu are by common consent
identified with each other and both with India. No further proof
of this assertion need be sought than an examination of the annals
themselves which say,
“Le royaume de T'ien-tchou (Inde) s’appelle aussi Chcn-tou (Shen-tu); il cst a
plusieurs milliers de li au Sud-Est des Hiong-nu.”
The identification with India has been attested by Chavannes, 17
Burgess, etc. The most recent equivalent given is the Sanskrit
sindhu which, as may be seen, is almost perfectly duplicated by the
Chinese word. Shen-tu, ordinarily pronounced Shen-du, could
scarcely be more accurately borrowed by Chinese, who, it would
seem, only learnt of the word by hearsay.
The Chinese works in which this name appears in reference to
our period are the Cb’ien Han Shu, covering the period from 206
B.C. to 25 A.D.; the Hou Han Shu from 25-220 A.D.; the Shih
Chi of Ssu-ma Ch’ien, and thf great history of Ma Tuan-lin which
was not written till after the first millemum A.D. Of these the
most important for the present investigation is the Shih Chi, con
taining the first account of the Memoirs of Chang Ch’ien, who,
perhaps, was the first Chinese, at least the first historical Chinese to
hear the name India. Other Chinese works of less repute have been
cited by a number of Western scholars, who have attempted to build
upon the exaggeration, found therein a framework of fact with which,
17 Chavannes, op. tit., 192-3,
Chinese -Indian Contacts prior to first century 491
in some cases, there is an attempt to prove a number of rather fantas-
tic sequences. 18
Books 6 1, the Memoirs of Chang Ch’ien, and 96, Notes of
Western Regions, are the only sections of importance to this subject
in the Ch’ien Han Shu. The former duplicates Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s
account of what seems clearly to have been the first historical journey
of a Chinese to the region of the Pamirs. The original Memoir is
found in the last chapters of the Shih Chi. The above are the sources
at our disposal in entering into a discussion of the actual knowledge
possessed by India and China of one another prior to a date approxi-
mating 65 A.D. The Chinese historical tradition seems too firmly
rooted to make their annals subject to much scepticism in essentials,
though in some particulars they have been subjected to the usual
historical criticism. The section on Chang Ch’ien , for instance,
which enumerates an almost impossible number of plants, animals,
and other commodities brought back by him from the West, seems
to smack of the eponymous culture hero rather than of actual fact:
These passages, like the Psalms of David, and compass of. Huang
Ti must be taken as later accretions by which the first man who
went to the West must be given credit for all things Western re-
gardless of when they were actually introduced.
By way of introduction to the first centuary B.C., brief ref-
erence ought to be made to the works of numerous scholars who
have asserted that contact existed between China and India prior to
the first century B.C. Detailed criticism of these assertions, how-
ever, seems out of place in the present discussion since it would
really amount to little more than a rehearshing of outworn arguments
dealing with points of very doubtful authenticity.
18 Of the works so affected, that of Terricn de LaCouperie, entitled, The
Western Origin of Chinese Civilization from 2, 3 oo B.C. to 2 00 A.D. is perhaps
the most fantastic.
19 A summary list here will indicate the titles of some of die works in which
such references are to be found. Suffice it to say that the writer has satisfied himself
492 Chinese-Indian Contacts prior to first century
The actual beginning of a widening of the Chinese geographi-
cal horizon tiook place, it would seem, from the commencement of
the reign of Wu Ti (140-87 B.C.) of the former Han dynasty. At
the beginning of his reign this energetic monarch busied himself
with the affairs of the Hsiung-nu, who, like others of their stock in
later days, were constantly making raids on China’s western frontier.
“At that time (140- 134 B.C.) the Son of Heaven made inquiries among those
Hiung-nu who had surrendered (as prisoners) and they all reported that the Hiung-
nu had overcome the king of die Yiic-chi and made a drinking vessel out of his
skull. The Yiie-chi had decamped and were hiding somewhere, all the time schem-
ing how to take revenge on die Hiung-nu, but had no ally to join them in striking
a blow. The Chinese wishing to declare war on and wipe out the Tartars, upon
hearing this report, desired to communicate with the Yiie-chi; but, the road having
to pass through the territory of the Hiung-nu, the emperor sought out men whom
he could send. 20
That the above is a story told by actual Hsiung-nu prisoners
seems difficult to doubt in view of the fact that they might naturally
expect a tribe whose chief had been so badly treated to seek revenge.
That such a consideration was far from Yiieh-chih intentions is seen
from the story told by them at a later date to the envoy selected by
Wu Ti.
Chang Ch’ien, the envoy, began his journey in 138 B.C.,
accompanied by a small detachment of troops. Almost immediately
that none of the assertions alluded to below present sufficient evidence to prove
connection between the two countries prior to the first century A.D.
, a. Terrien de LaCouperie. The Western Origin of the Early Chinese
Cvilization . . . , passi m .
b. Rawlinson. Intercourse between India and the Western World, pp. 9, 43.
c. T. W. Rhys-Davids, Buddhist India, 90.
d. The Cambridge History of India, I, 213.
e. George Rawlinson. Bactria, a Forgotten Empire, 74, 77, 125.
f. Radhakumud Mookerji. Indian Shipping, 53-4, 163, 114.
g. J. Kennedy. The Early Commerce of Babylon with India, 700-300 B.C.
{IRAS., 1898, 241-288.
h. Srinivasa Iyengar. Trade of India, ( 1 HQ., I, II, 1925-26, II, 43-44, 291).
20 Hirth, Friedrich. The Story of Chang Ctiien,... (JAOS., XXXVII, pt. 2,
93). I have preserved the spellings and identifications of the authors quoted.
493
Chinese-Indian Contacts prior to first century
he suffered the misfortune of falling into the hands of the very
Hsiung-nu against whom he was commissioned to find an ally. His
almost marvellous steadfastness in duty over a period of ten years*
detention among the Hsiung-nu, during which time he married a
wife and reared a family, almost borders on the miraculous; but it
is hard to doubt the historicity of his tale, appearing as it does among
documents of the greatest reliability. At the end of the ten years
Chang Ch ien escaped to the Yiieh-chih, who were then living west
of the Pamirs and north of the Syr Darya (Jaxartes river).
No success obtained in the attempt to persuade the Yiieh-chih
to return, but Chang Ch’ien gained a geographical knowledge of
considerable proportions which he communicated to Wu Tj after his
return, which took place in a year s time, after a second captivity.
Chang Ch ien must have returned, therefore, about the year 126
B.C. to give his official report.
“The following countries were visited by Chang K'ien in person: Ta-yiian
(Ferghana), Ta-yiic-chi (Indoscythia 21 ), Ta-hia (Bactria), and K’ang-kii (Soghdiana);
there were besides, five or six other large adjacent countries concerning which he
gained information and on which he reported in the following terms . 22
To the southwest of it (Bactria) is a country called Shon-tu [India). Chang
Ch’ien says (in his report to the Emperor): “When I was in Ta-hia I saw there a
stick of bamboo of Kiting (Kiung-chou in Ssi-ch’uan) and some cloth of Shu
(Ssi-ch’uan). When I asked the inhabitants of Ta-hia how they had obtained posses-
sion of these, they replied : The inhabitants of our country buy them in Shon-tu
(India),’ Shon-tu may be several thousand It to the south-east of Ta-hia. The
people there have fixed abodes, and their customs are very much like those of Ta-
hia; but the country is low, damp, and hot. The people ride on elephants to fight
in battle. The country is close to a great river. According to my calculations,
Ta-hia (Bactria) must be 12,000 It distant from China and to the southwest of the
latter. Now the country of Shon-tu being several thousand It to the south-east of
Ta-hia, and the produce of Shu (Ssi-ch’uan) being found there, that country cannot
be far from Shu. Suppose we send ambassadors to Ta-hia through the country of
the K’iang (Tangutans), there is the danger that the K’iang will object; if we send
21 The term Indoscythia, as well as other identifications, are Hirth’s. It
probably refers to the Kusanas, one of the five tribes of the Great Yiieh-chih.
22 Hirth, op. cit.y 95. No clearer statement of Chinese ignorance of these
countries prior to Chang Ch’icn could possibly be given.
494 Chinese-lndian Contacts prior to first century
them but slightly farther north, they will be captured by the Hiung-nu; but by
going by way of Shu (Ssi-ch’uan) they may proceed direct and will be unmolested
by robbers.” 23
This account, the first in Chinese annals, evidently refers to
the India of the Pan jab and possibly Sind. Some have taken it as
the Ganges country, though it would seem to be a less certain
identification. It is clear that Chang Ch’ien got his information of
India wholly by hearsay and his conjectures show him, at least, to
have been entirely ignorant of India prior to his arrival in Bactria in
128 B.C. Chinese annals 21 do not support any hypothesis for earlier
knowledge of the West and particularly of India.
A number of hypotheses have been made about the Sze-
ch’uanese goods which came through India, and from the descrip-
tion of the bamboo, experts have identified the sample found by
Chang Ch’ien with the Sze-ch’ uanese species. 2 ' 1 This fact has been
taken as proof of the trade route referred to throughout La
Couperie’s work, which ran through Sze-ch’uan, Yunnan, Upper
Burma, Assam, and on to India. While such a route may well have
existed by which a few Chinese goods were sent to India and even
beyond into Bactria, the geography and population of the country,
which not only turned back several expeditions of the Emperor
Wu Ti, but also certain fully equipped British expeditions of more
recent date, forbids any assumption of a ‘through route’ hypothesis.
Beyond the mere mention of the name India (Shen-tu) it may
be assumed that Chinese were still unacquainted witfh India even
after Chang Ch’ien reported in the year 126 B.C. It is also of in-
terest that the above quotation is apparently the sole authority for all
23 Hirth, op. cit., 98.
24 At least according to present translations.
25 I have been unable to find documentary evidence of this statement but
have it on the oral testimony of the late Berthold Laufer as quoted by Dr. Walter
E. Clark.
495
Chinese-lndian Contacts prior to first century
later Chinese descriptions of India till the time of the Later Han
Annals. The Ch’ien Han Shu (206 B.C. — 25 A.D.) repeats the
above information with very slight modification.
That the India discovery (i.e. the hearsay of India) loomed im-
portant in Chinese official eyes may be seen in the sequel to Chang
Ch’ien’s report, but one will likewise observe that India becomes
important wholly as a possible highway to Bactria and in no sense
because it was itself known to be a region rich in all sorts of valuable
produce. This makes even more evident the obvious conclusion that
India and Indian goods alike were unknown to China prior to the
first century B.C.
“The Son of heaven on hearing all this, reasoned thus: Ta-Yiian and the
possessions of Ta-hia and An-si are large countries full of rare things, with a popu-
lation living in fixed abodes and given to occupations somewhat identical with those
of the Chinese people, but with weak armies; and placing great value on the rich
produce of China; in the north the possessions of the Ta Yue-chi and K’ang-ku,
being of military strength, might be made subservient to the interests of the Court
by bribes and thus gained over by mere force of persuasion. In this way a territory
of 10,000 li in extent would be available for the spread among the four seas of
Chinese superior civilization by communicating through many interpreters with the
nations holding widely different customs.’ As a result the Son of Heaven was
pleased to approve Chang K’icn’s proposal. He thereupon gave orders that, in
accordance with Chang K’ien’s suggestions, exploring expeditions be sent out from
Kien-w e’i of the Shu kingdom (the present Sii-chou-fu on the Upper Yang-tse) by
four different routes at the same time; one to start by way of Mang;
one by way of }an (both names referring to barbarous hill tribes on the southwestern
frontiers; (cf. Shi-ki, chap. 116, p. 2); one by way of Sst (or Si); and one by way of
Kiung (Kiung-chou) in Ssi-chuan and P’o (the present Ya-chou). These several
missions had each travelled but one or two thousand li when those in the north were
prevented from proceeding farther by the Ti and Tso tribes, and those in the south
by the Sui and K’un-ming tribes (placed by the commentators in the southwest of
Sii-chou-fu) who had no chiefs and, being given to. robbery, would hlavfe killed or
captured the Chinese envoys. The result was that the expedition could not proceed
further. They heard, however, that about a thousand li or more to the west there
was the “elephant riding country'’ called Tien-Yue (possibly meaning the Tien, of
Yunnan, part of Yue or South China), whither the traders of Shu (Ss'i-ch’uan) were
wont to proceed, exporting produce surreptitiously. Thus it was that by trying to
find the road to Ta-hia (Bactria) the Chinese obtained their first knowledge of the
Tien country. (Yunnan ).” 26
496 Chinese-lndian Contacts prior to first century
Clearly this passage indicates, not only Chinese ignorance ot
India to the south-west, but also of Yunnan itself. That Chinese
produce in great quantity could have passed through the maze of
jungled mountains separating Sze-ch’uan and India seems incredible.
The four expeditions were completely stopped in both the northern
and southern sectors. This illustrates likewise the futility of trying
tc prove a Tibetan route as early as the time of Chang Ch’ien as
indicated vaguely in certain of the secondary works listed above. 27
Had such a route been known, it is hardly possible that it would
not have been resorted to by the northern expeditions.
But Chang Ch’ien’s interest in this project was not dampened
by these failures. After a temporary degradation in office due to
an error in the field of battle against the Hsiung-nu, he was again
commanded to lead an expedition to the West, this time to persuade
the Wu-sun to return to a region nearer China so that the combined
peoples might offer a better resistance to the Hsiung-nu assaults.
Being unable to persuade the Wu-sun, any more than he had pre-
viously persuaded the Yiieh-chih, Chang Ch’ien prepared to return
again to China. Before undertaking this journey he sent ambassa-
dors out to all known regions as indicated in the following excerpt*
‘‘The population of Wu-sun was thus divided into three parts, and notwithstand-
ing that the majority were under his (the old ruler’s) authority, the K’un-mo (King
of Wu-sun) did not dare take it upon himself to conclude that treaty with Chang
K’ien. Chang K’ien therefore sent ambassadors in several directions to the countries
of Ta-Yiian (Ferghana,), K’ang-kii (Soghdiana), Ta-Yue-chi, Ta-hia (Bactria), An-si
(Parthia), Shon-tu [India), Yii-tien (Khotan), Ham-mi and the adjacent countries.
Wu-sun furnished guides and interpreters to accompany Chang K’ien on his return,
and the latter, travelling with several dozen natives and as many horses sent by the
people of Wu-sun in acknowledgement (of the Emperor’s gifts), and thereby afforded
them the opportunity to see China with their own eyes and thus to realize the extent
of her greatness .” 28
Did the ambassadors reach India (Shen-tu) and if so, which part?
These questions prevent any positive conclusions on the score of the
26 Hirth, of, cit„ 99-100.
27 Sufra, 6, note. 28 Hirth, of, tit., 102.
497
Chinese-lndian Contacts prior to first century
testimony just quoted. India provides no answer, and Chang
Ch’ien makes no further remark about this particular ambassador’s
return to China. The Ta-hia (Bactrian) ambassadors returned after
a year, accompanied by a native of the region, but nothing beyond
the sending is recorded of the ambassador to India. The difficulties
of the journey may have overcome any ambassador despatched to so
distant a region, or perhaps, having arrived in some one of the small
kingdoms south of Bactria, the envoy may have concluded that this
was a sufficient representation of India. It is possible that Chi-pin 29
was reached, because in subsequent notices from the Ch’ien Han
Shu, that region receives sufficient notice to be reckoned as more
important than India itself, if one can judge by the space devoted to
each. Of course it is possible that the Shen-tu envoy actually did
penetrate into India, but such a thesis cannot be proved.
This expedition was Chang Ch’ien’ s last. He died soon after
in the year 115 B.C. His importance as one of the world’s earliest
explorers can hardly be overestimated as it created die Chinese know-
ledge of the West, which, in turn, led to the acquisition of Chinese
Turkestan in the Han regime and even of Bactria and Soghdiana in
T ang days. 11 ' The reduction of these regions to stable and peaceful
conditions were primary factors in the great cultural and commercial
intercourse which subsequently took place between India, Persia, and
the Roman Empire on the one hand and China on the other.
Without dwelling on the phases of this Central Asian conquest
with which both the Cb’ien Han Shu and Hou Han Shu are con-
cerned in certain chapters, an examination may be made of both
of these works and the epilogue of Chang Ch’ien’ s Memoirs for
notices of India.
Shortly after Chang Ch’ien’ s death, a further group of ambassa-
dors (ca. x 12-106 B.C.) were sent to all Western countries including
29 Supra, 4 .
30 Edouard Chavannes. Documents sur les Tou-kiue ( Turcs ) Occidentaux, 276 ff.
I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1938 IO
Chinese -1 ndian Contacts prior to first century
Shen-tu, but again no report of the journey or experiences of those
despatched to India is forthcoming / 1 The fact that no further des-
cription of India, as if given by an eyewitness exists in any subse-
quent account in the Ch’ien Han Shu convinces one that none of
the Chinese sent abroad reached India proper, but the careful geo-
graphical data provided in the Ch’ien Han Shu on Chi-pin may
indicate that our ‘Indian’ embassies arrived in this extreme north-
western portion. Confirmation of this in India is not to be expected
in view of the fact that even Alexander the Great was passed over in
silence, but the detailed information given in the Chinese records on
Chi-pin is practically conclusive evidence. As the description of this
country is too long to quote in full 12 the following digest will supply
the chief essence of the information. Chi-pin is described as being
12,000 li from Ch’ang-an, the Chinese capital. It is reckoned as a
first-rate kingdom of considerable extent and population and is not
ruled by the Chinese ‘Governor General.’ It joins the Ta -Yiieh-
chih on the north-east. This indicates a southward movement of
the Yiieh-chih into Bactna, which, if Chi-pin is Kabul and
its environs, would fit fairly accurately. “The country of Chi-pin
is flat, and the climate is nuld and agreeable.’’ Perhaps Chavannes'
location of Chi-pin in Kasmir is better fitted to this description than
Kabul. Chi-pin produces sandal-wood (known only along the
Malabar coast in India), bamboo, the varnish tree, the five grains,
grapes, and other fruits. On the low ground rice is cultivated and
raw vegetables are eaten in the winter.
Of primary importance is the notice taken of the skill in
“ornamenting, engraving, and inlaying building palaces and man-
sions, net weaving, ornamental perforation, and embroidery.”
These references suggest either the continued existence of Greeks in
the region of Chi-ptn or else the Greek art and coinage which were
31 Hirth, op. cit., 104.
32 Wylie, op. cit., 33-38.
499
Chines e-Indian Contacts prior to first century
taken over by Sakas and Parthians after Greek rule had disappeared.
The fact that Gandhara sculpture, so far unearthed, does not ante-
date the Kusanas is no proof that such art did not exist earlier. As a
matter of fact the general opinion is that it was begun by
the Bactrian-Greeks themselves. The above chance excerpt, dated
certainly prior to 25 A.D. and probably several years earlier than the
Christian era, can safely be interpreted as proof of pre-Kusana art in
Chi-pin, whether that place is Kasmir, Kapisa, or Kabul.
That the first information of Chi-pin came not long after
Chang Ch’ien’s death in 115 B.C. is seen in the following short
passage. “From the time that Wu Ti opened up communications
with Chi-pin , the rulers of that kingdom, in view of the extreme
distance, had considered themselves safe from the intrusion of a
Chinese army. 11 This certainly cannot have been later than 87
B.C., the date of Wu Ti’s death. No further description of Chi-pin
as a country is vouchsafed to us in the lengthy section devoted to its
affairs; but a detailed discussion of the perfidy of its ruler, which
extended to the execution of several Chinese ambassadors, reveals the
fact that China far from being able ro reach India proper was
wholly unable to trust her emissaries to the wholly irresponsible chi-
pinese, and what was worse, no redress for such grievances was possi-
ble, even as late as the reign of Ching-te (32-7 B.C.) who made a
speech to the ambassadors from Chi-pin on the subject of why China
must withdraw recognition of Chi-pin because of past outrages.
References to Shen-tu (India) are scattered throughout the 96th
book of the Ch’ien Han Shu as geographical location notices only.
As a typical example, the location of ‘Pi-shan’ may be cited. “The
country joins Shen-tu on the south, and is distant from Koo-mik on
north 1,450 li. The road to Chi-pin and W u-yih-shan-li lies to the
south-west.' 11 Such notices are of little value except to show that
India, though not yet reached by Chinese, had not been forgotten.
33 Wylie, of. cit -. , 36-38. 34 Wylie, of. cit., 30-31.
500 Chinese-lndian Contacts -prior to first century
The above observations exhaust the reliable sources which re-
late to evidence of Chinese-lndian contacts in first century B.C. Of
the spread of Buddhism we have as yet learned nothing, though de
LaCouperj.e s works and others who follow him, contain sufficient
material drawn from various spurious sources to maintain a theory of
t'he introduction of Buddhism into China prior to the reign of Ch’in
Shih Huang-ti. Certain it is that Chang Ch’ien or the Chinese
annalists had taken no notice of such a religion even in the West.
Turning to the beginning of the first century A.D. our sources
are the Hou Han Shu, Ma Tuan-iin, and various references con-
tained in post-Christian Classical sources. Ma Tuan-lin’s work,
being really only a condensed version of the contents of the earlier
material, contains nothing new. The value of Pliny’s contribution
concerning “fair-haired, blue-eyed Seres north of the Emodi” has
been commented upon above, but a further reference made by him
to Seric iron '' 1 is of some interest.
“But of all the different kinds of iron, the palm of excellence is awarded to that
which is made by the Seres, who send it to us with their tissues and skins; next to
which, in quality, is the Parthian iron.”
No other reference to Chinese iron is found anywhere in
western sources, nor are the Chinese themselves in the habit of men-
tioning its supreme excellence. What Pliny refers to, therefore, is
wholly a matter for conjecture.
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea provides the definite infor-
mation that Chinese silk could be bought at the three ports
of Barbaricum '' near the mouth of the Indus, Barygaza (Broach)
where “ancient drachmae are current,’’ and Barkare which is within
the Pandya kingdom in southern India. Obviously the silk which
arrived at the two west coast ports came through the Kabul valley or
over one of the Pamir passes and then down the Indus, but the origin
of the silk in Barkare is less certain. The text explains. “Besides
35 Pliny, xxxiv, 41.
36 Schoff, of. cit. y 38. Periplus, 39.
Chinese-lndian Contacts prior to first century 501
this there are exported great quantities of fine pearls, ivory, silk cloth,
spikenard from the Ganges, malabathrum from the plains in the
interior etc.” The common interpretation has been that silk arrived
at Barkare from the Ganges region, having reached that port either
by way of the same north-west passes or else by the Yunnan-Burmese
route. The latter, as has been shown, was extremely precarious as
a means of transporting a commodity to a steady market, the former
is more plausible. The important question relative to these silk ports
is the time of their establishment as such. Is it not possible, if China
got Indian goods in Chi-pin, that Chinese goods might have been
exchanged for them and thus have reached Indiah ports even a
century prior to the Periplus’ certification of it? While this is possi-
ble it can only remain a conjecture till fresh evidence is forthcoming.
Most important in the Periplus for our purposes is the kingdom
of This (China?) described as the last known land.
“After this region (the East coast of India to the Ganges delta) under the very
north, the sea outside ending in a land called This, there is a very great inland city
called Thtnae (Chang-an), from which raw silk and silk yam and silk cloth arc
brought on foot through Bactna to Barygaza, and are also exported to Damirica by
w’ay of the river Ganges. But the land of This is not easy of access; few men come
from there, and seldom. The country lies under the Lesser Bear, and is said to
border on the farthest parts of Pontus and the Caspian Sea, next to which lies Lake
Maeods, all of which empty into the ocean.”
This passage clarifies the previous reference to silk from the
Ganges and also makes it evident that the only recognized route of
silk, even in the first century A.D. was that from Chang-an (if that
is Thinae) westward through Chinese Turkestan and (for India)
south through the passes of the north-west and down the Indus or
Ganges to the various ports from which silk could be shipped to the
Roman market. It is probable that much was also consumed by an
Indian market, though no evidence for such a conclusion exists
except: in references to Cina etc. referred to above as being present
37 Scoff, of. cit., 48-49. Periplus, 64-65.
502 Chinese-Indian Contacts prior to first century
in sources of such doubtful date as the Mahabharata, Milindapanha,
and the rest.
This additional knowledge of China attained in the West by
the end of the first century is sufficient to introduce the following
passage from the Hou Han Shu which will serve both as an illustra-
tion of the tremendous advance in geographical knowledge gained
by the Chinese during the first two hundred and twenty years of
the Christian era and as a fitting termination of a paper rather barren
in positive testimony.
“Le royaume de T’ien-tchou (Inde) s’appelle aussi Chen-tou; il est a plusicurs
milliers dc li au Sud-Est des Hionginu. Ses mcours sont semblables a cclles des
Hiong-nu, 38 mais le pays est bas, humide, et chaud. Ce royaume est sur les bords
d’un grand fleuve. Ses habitants montent sur des elephants pour combattrc; ils sont
plus faibles que les Yue-tche; ils pratiquent le religion du Buddha; aussi est devenu
chez eux une habitude de ne pas tuer et de ne pas batailler.
Quand on part du royaume de Kao-fou (Kaboul) qui appartient aux Yue-tche et
qu’on se dirige verse le Sud-Oucst on arrive a la mcr occidentalc; a l'Est, on parvient
au royaume de P’an-k’i; tous ces pays sont partie de Chen-tou. Le Chen-tou a
plusieurs centaines de villes autres (que la capitale); dans chaquc ville on a mis un
gouverneur; il a plusieurs dizaines de royaumes autres (que le royaume principal)
dans chaque royaume il y a un roi. Quoiqifon remarque dans chaque de ces
royaumes quelques petites differences, tous cependant se nomment le Chen-tou. A
cettc epoque, 39 ils dependaient tous des Yue-tche; les Yue-tche avaient tue le roi et
avaient installe un chef pour gouverner cette population.
Ce pays produit des elephants, des rhinoceros, de I’ecaille de tortue, de Tor, de
l’argent, du cuivre, du fer, du plomb, de 1 ’etain. Du cote dc l’Ouest, il est en com-
munication avec le Ta Ts’in; aussi y trouve-t’on les objects precieux de Ta Ts’in.
On y trouve aussi des toiles fines, des tapis de laine de bonne qualite, des parfums dc
toutes sortes, du sucre candi, du poivre, du gengembre, du sel noire.”
Elmer H. Cutts
38 This statement would hardly indicate more than hearsay knowledge of
India even by 200 A.D., were it not qualified below.
39 About 125 A.D. Chavannes, op. clt note, 192.
Glimpses into the Ancient History of Cochin
The history o£ the Perumpatappu Svarupam, 1 the present royal
family of Cochin, during the pre-Portuguese period is shrouded in
darkness. On the basis of certain literary references, an attempt was
made by the present writer to reconstruct the choronology of the
Cochin kings for the period 1342-1500 A.D. 2 * 4 5 Some information is
available from literary sources regarding two of her sovereigns of the
middle of the 14th century who were responsible for shifting the
family headquarters from Mahodayapuram to Cochin, and this is
the theme of the present paper.
The transfer of the traditional headquarters of the royal family
is an event of great significance in the history of any royal family
and it was particularly so in this tradition-ridden corner of India.
This step certainly demands more than ordinary grit and calibre in
the kings who effected it; and this event has been commemorated
by the founding of an era, 2 called the Cochin Era. 1 It is only after
this event that the Peru rn patapp a Miippil has come to be called the
King of Cochin. " The kings who made this transfer are held to be
two Rama Varmas, the Maharaja and the heir-apparent, who are
1 This is the traditional name by which the royal family of Cochin was
known in ancient days; and this name persists even to-day in orthodox
communications.
2 Vide the writer’s paper on ‘Some Glimpses of Cochin History , published
in the Journal of Oriental Research , Madras, vol. V, pp. 142-151.
^ Vide die writer’s paper on the ‘Three Kerala Eras , published in the journal
mentioned above, vol. I, no. 2.
4 Another name for this era is the Putuvaippu Era; and it is under this name
that the era is mentioned in the Dutch treaty of 1663. This name is more popular
and refers to another important effect of the great floods, namely the land accretion
along the coast.
5 Some hold diat this name was given by the Portuguese : this is wrong, for
we find that die name is mentioned by Balakavi of the latter half of die 15th
century, almost fifty years before die advent of the Portuguese.
5°4 Glimpses into the Ancient History of Cochin
described in the following verse, occuring in the T enkailanathodaya
of Nilakantha : 6
cT5T ^Rptff*nsn3t t
sfasrfaftpm'tft gf mu
This citation shows that the Rama Varmas possessed those
virtues to a remarkable extent — an aspect that will be made clearer
in the citations following. One interesting feature that may be
noticed here is the fact that the Rama Varmas are mentioned
together, and it may be taken as indication that they were together
responsible for the transfer of the capital.
Two Rama Varmas again figure prominently in the Sanskrit
Kavya, called the Sivavilasa,' 3 written by one Damodara Cakyar, 10 a
protege of king Kerala Varrna of Kayankulam. This chief had a
daughter, named Unniyati, bom of his wife Gupta, — born late in
life as a result of praying to god Siva enshrined in the family temple
of Kandiyur. The girl was given an education worthy of her birth. 11
6 Vide the paper mentioned in note 2 ante. The conclusions, set forth in
that paper have been questioned by Mahakavi Ullur S. P. Iyer : vide his Introduc-
tion to the edition of the Bhasanaisadhacampii ; vide also the Bulletin of the Sir
Rama Varma Research Institute , Trichur. These views are controverted in the
paper ‘The Date of Nilakantha’s Chronology’ contributed by the writer to the
Quarterly Journal of the Keralasdhityapansad.
7 Vide page 3 verse 6 in the Malayalam Improvement Committee’s edition
of the text of the T enkailanathodaya.
8 Here are given the particular features of the kings mentioned: they are
both endowed with noble virtues, are bold and enterprising, have destroyed their
enemies and are deep and dignified like the ocean.
9 Vide the Journal of the Samastakerala-sahityaparisad, vol. Ill, no. I,
pp. 23.39.
10 Compare, e.g.,
si srm sBRq gutter 11
1 1 Compare, e.g., the following verses :
*nrfg 3^: 1
3 # 731 arc n
__ 1
Glimpses into the Ancient History of Cochin 5°5
Even when the girl was but twelve, she became fully grown up 12
and so her father, being anxious to get her married to one worthy
of her, decided upon holding a Svayamva.ro, , possibly the only ins-
tance of the kind in all-Kerala, which literature has so far pre-
served for us. Elaborate preparations were made for the function,
and all the eligibles of the land were informed. Many were the
aspiring candidates who attended the function, and among them was
the twenty-five year old 11 heir-apparent Rama Varma of the
Perumpatappu Svariipam , who came accompanied by his uncle
Rama Varma, the Perumpatappu Muppil. One after another the
candidates were presented and they were rejected till the bride
reached Yuvaraja Rama Varma. This prince was introduced and
the bride chose him. We quote below the extract which describes
the Rama Varmas of Cochin :
i ^<1^4 qrat *tt^w irii
fcjf iPIT &T S*Nr &W IRII
g^^JTr g# ^ fg? imi
^nfrTfRfTJr^T gR^rh imi
' srFRT^T SWRlfafip II
3T<3T*T 7iJTf%cPn- I
stfsra ^rasf m M^prhth. ii
It is interesting to notice the attainments of the daughter of the king of
Kayankulam, the heroine of the poem. Her education comprised the subjects of
dancing and music, literature and literary criticism, grammar and philosophy,
particularly Vedanta and Mimamsa .
12 Vide the following:
fm tm mfg I
13 Vide citation <jy following.
I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1938
It
506 Glimpses into the Ancient History of Cochin
5TT^ tr^r: tRTgt H c ,ll
*PRtfMh s^^ff^RT 5r%3 11*11
3?W ifcRT giremt 1
Prelm' q «E*Rfcr ^^rcr-RTrfg’ 11*11
wr 1
51W: TR g TtoWT <>nRfagtgR 3 vnfiT^q: ns.lt
wf^#fl^TtW5T5^T^yniR I
35TT fafffTT gfa ^m^'k'TT^q^T fg^Rfm^f^T 111 ® II
^rffR: ^RT SIRR# ftg*lT tTRg
■ tt=t cratR imii
W^RTftgfg'TR: 1
gr% imn
* # « * *
gre\ f^fi <rtr giw ^ 'mrfiT yiw g'g: 1
^>Rff ^ R f^r g*f gnamt %5^gt f^sft: in 311
gRRfTRT wmn: fg^Tf JTT#f|m^r: gg^: gw^r: I
r g#gw$RTT ^Jfnggt i^qspwg: in*n
RTgR#RR craTfa ^sferfggTfiw# giRg 1
tflR 3T ^Rf^fT<IRR JTTf^qrpi^ R %• ggtR: IIUII
* # # * #
We get from the description certain interesting historical de-
tails. In the first place the Perumptappu Muppil was then holding
court at Mahodayapuram, 16 modern Cranganore, and he was
14 This expression is a literal Sanskrit rendering of the Malayalam expression
Perumpatappu, which means extending wide .
15 Mr. U. S. P. Iyer understands that Yuvaraja Rama Varma was the son
of Laksmi Rani. This is wrong.
16 Vide citation V given above.
5°7
Glimpses into the Ancient History of Cochin
then having some sort of all-Kerala supremacy, 17 though the extent of
it is not clear. Secondly, the name of the then reigning monarch
was Rama Varma, 1 * the son of Rani Laksmi 19 and that he had a
nephew Rama Varma who was the Yuvaraja . 20 Further, we also
know that these kings were contemporaries of Kerala Varma of
Kayankularn.
We shall now try to see if it be possible to fix up the dates of
these Rama Varmas with some degree of approximation at least. It
is said that three ladies of Kandiyur are mentioned in the Unnini -
lisande'sa 3 21 one of the greatest Sandesakavyas of Malayalam litera-
ture and possibly the best of the type; and one among them is a
Unniyati. This work is said to have been written about 1374 A.D.
when the king of Kayankularn was a Ravi Varma who is described
as an aged king. 22 There is nothing improbable in identifying the
Unniyati of the Kavya with the Unniyati of the Sandesa. We also
know from the Karaymakkarana of the Uralars of the Irinjalakkuda
temple 2 ' 1 that the king of Kayankularn in 1341-42 was a Ravi Varma,,
17 Mr. Iyer concedes this point in his article on the subject. He says that the
Perumpatappu Muppil holding court at Mahodayapuram was the Emperor of
Kerala, thereby suggesting that he had some sort of all-Kerala overlordship: vide
pp. 38 & 39; and further substantiates his position with reference to Viraraghavacakra-
varti. This view is perfectly in keeping with the view we have already elaborated in
our paper ‘Kings of Cochin versus Emperor of Kerala, published in the Maharajas
College Magazine , vol. IX, no. I, pp. 11-13.
18 Vide citations vt & 5. given above.
19 Vide citation £ given above.
20 Vide citation £ above.
2r Vide the Journal quoted in note 9 ante: page 24.
22 Ibid .
23 Vide the Bulletin of the Sir Rama Varma Research Institute , Trichur:
No. II : Temple Studies : Irihjalakuda Temple. We give below a literal rendering
of the Karaymakkarana: —
“The Karayma deed written in the month of Thulam 517 M.E. The agree-
ment entered into between the people of the nine families who own Karayma rights
in the Irinjalakuda-Ksetra and who took the Manikka gem on Karayma and Ravi
Varma who is the lord of Onattu-Kara and who gave the Manikkaratna as
Karayma.
508
Glimpses into the Ancient History of Cochin
who may be identified with the Ravi Varma of the Sandesakavya.
If these identifications are correct, then the father of Unniyati, the
consort of Yuvaraja Rama Varma of the Perumpatappu Svairupam
must be the immediate predecessor of Ravi Varma who was the king
of Kayankulam in 1342 A.D. In which case the two Rama Varmas,
the Perumpatappu Muppil and his nephew, must be contemporaries
of both Kerala Varma and Ravi Varma of Kayankulam; and that
means they are the Rama Varmas who are mentioned as being the
first kings of Cochin in the Tenkailanathodaya.
This conclusion finds some support in the circumstances lead-
ing to the execution of the Karaymakkarana of the Manikkaksetra
of Irinjalakkuda. The Perumpatappu Muppil bad already been
granted by the year 1336 large powers in the temple 21 and yet no
reference is found made in the temple chronicles to this suzerain lord
either in the matter of loaning the gem, or in the execution of the
Karaymakkarana, by which two very important rights were granted
to the king of Kayankulam, namely the right of appointing the
Referring to the Manikka-ratna received on Karayma, the people of the nine
families gave in writing to accompaniment of Nirudaka as Karayma right in their
Manikka-ksetra the Karayma-melayma-sthanam and the Sri-koviipani-taccuta-kammal-
avarodha-sthanam to be conducted without deviating from the customary usages
obtaining in the Sahketa to keep the Bhandara and render accounts to the Sabhayo-
gam in the Vatalmadham of the temple. Similarly, giving to the nine families the
Manikka-ratnam as Karayma , Ravi Varma received in writing to the
accompaniment of Nirudaka as Karayma right the Samudaya-melayma-sthanam and
the Sri-kovil-pani-taccuta-kammal-avarodha-sthanam in the Manikka-ksetra , belong-
ing to the people of the nine families who received as Karayma the Manikka-ratna in
return. In this wise receiving die Manikka-ratna as Karayma gift and giving back
in writing to the accompaniment of Nirudaka die Samudaya-melayma-sthanam and
receiving this in writing by Ravi Varma from the nine families, attest-
ing witnesses Tarananallur Namputiri, Akor Namputiri, Matiyatt Tanni and
Pambum Mekkatt. Written with dieir knowledge and in the hand- writing of
Turuttikatt Kutal.”
This is no doubt a very interesting document for more reasons than one, and
particularly to the students of language and of history, particularly of the temple,
at Irihjalakuda.
24 Vide article mentioned in note 23 ante . 1*
Glimpses into the Ancient History of Cochin
5°9
the Samudaya Melayma and the temple architect. According to our
interpretation of the references in the Siva-vilasa, this lack of re-
ference is easily explainable : it must have been at the instance and
with the cognisance of the Perumpatappu Muppil that the loan was
made and the document executed. We, therefore, hold that the
Rama Varmas mentioned in the Kavya must have been living in
1342 A.D.
From what has been said it will be clear that these two Rama
Varmas can with a fair degree of accuracy be ascribed to the middle
of the 14th century A.D. and that means they can be identified
with the Rama Varmas mentioned in the Tenkailanathodaya, who
are described as the first kings of Cochin. 2 "
Vitanidrabhanam , 2G of an unknown author, mentions a Rama
Varma, at whose instance was the work written : compare the
following extracts :
lfwr%?n3TT: ^Tlf^
Also compare :
cTR^ U
Here again the Rama Varma is described as bolding court at
Mahodayapuram and as the son of Laksmi Rani. The latter of these
two facts is a clue which justifies our identification of this Rama
Varma with the Perumpatappu Muppil who figures in the Kavya,
25 Mr. U. S. P. Iyer’s dating of these kings is evidently wrong. Vide note
6 ante.
26 Vide Vijnanadipika, part IV, p. 207; also History of Sanskrit Literature in
Kerala. The former writer forgets that the poet has mentioned this Rama Varma as
holding court at Mahodayapuram and therefore has tried to connect this king with
the king who reigned between 1565 and 1600. This, it needs scarcely be said, is
totally wrong.
5 IO Glimpses into the Ancient History of Cochin
and the elder Rama Varma who is mentioned as the founder of the
city of Cochin.
We may here sum up the characteristic features of the hero
panegyried in the works mentioned above. The Perumpatappu
Muppil described in the Sivavilasakavya is the king of all-Kerala
who held his court at Mahodayapuram, which was then the premier
city in all-Kerala; he was a brave king and heroic warrior, graced
with all regal qualities. The Yuvaraja Rama Varma was equally
great as a warrior — adorned with physical strength and valour which
are toned down by patience and forgiveness, with knowledge which
is enhanced by kindness and sweetness of disposition, and with
charity which is characterised by selflessness and religiosity. He is
described as the flash of lightning which roots out the darkness of
ignorance and the divine tree which supports the creeper of fame.
Even when due allowance is made for the imagination and exaggera-
tion of the poet, enough yet remains in the poem which would show
that these two Rama Varmas were very eminent kings, an aspect
which is also borne out by the description given by Nilakantha.
They were both great warriors and statesmen, well versed in the
arts, both of peace and of war.
K. Rama Pisharoti
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
i. Mercenaries and militia were the two constituent parts of
,the Sinhalese army in the mediaeval period (Cf. H. W. C o d r i n g-
ton, Short Hist, of Ceylon, pp. 64-70; G. C. M e n d i s, Early
Hist, of Ceylon, pp. 83-85). Terms for, soldier ‘are yodha, bhata,
and if their bravery is to be emphasised by the poet: sura
hero.’ A peculiar term for ‘mercenary’ is ayudhiya ( Mhvs ., 61. 69)
or dyudha-fwin ( 66 . 67), one who is living by bearing arms or by
military service.
The mercenaries got payment from the king. They were
Sihalas or more frequently people who came over to Ceylon from
Southern India : Damilas, Keralas and Kanndtas ( desantarani -
vdsino yodha soldiers domiciled in a foreign country, 69. 18). In
the old Mahavamsa neither Keralas nor Kannatas are named at
all, and the Damilas were but the hated enemies of the Sinhalese
people. For the first time at the end of the 3rd cent. A.D.
Damilas occur as soldiers in the service of a Sinhalese ruler (36. 49).
Abhayanaga, the younger brother of Voharikatissa was forced to
take flight to main India owing to a crime he had committed at
court. He returned afterwards to Ceylon at the head of a
Damila army, defeated and killed his brother and ascended the
throne.
In the 7th cent. King Aggabodhi III was supported in his
war with Jetthatissa by Damija troops he had hired in India, and
Jetthatissa’s dignitary Dathasiva also had Damila soldiers in his
service when he himself took the crown from Aggabodhi (44. 105,
125). It seems that at that time the mercenary system was already
established or at least not unknown in Ceylon. The kipgs could
not dispense with it though it sometimes caused serious troubles.
5 12
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
We are told in 55. 1 sq. that King Mahinda V, 981-1017, was
unable to satisfy his troops by giving them their pay. Therefore a
mutiny broke but, and when the king had taken refuge in Rohana
in the remaining parts of the country the brutal soldiery of
Sihalas, Keralas and Kannatas carried on the government as they
pleased. On hearing this the Cola king sent an army to Ceylon and
made it a province of the Cola empire (Hr W. Codrington,
1 . 1 ., p. 40; G. C. M e n d i s, Early Hist, of Ceylon, p. 55). A pub-
lic calamity befell the Kerala mercenaries during the reign of the
usurper Magha, 1214-35. They oppressed and harassed the people
in a terrible manner, plundered their houses and took away their poss-
essions, and Magha himself, whose power was depending on this
soldiery, had delivered up to the Keralas whatever else belonged to
the Sihalas (80. 61-77).
2. Later on the Velakkara mercenaries played an important
role in the king’s army. They were, no doubt, a warlike tribe or
clan or a military community of Dravidian origin and may be com-
pared with similar communities within the Cola army as the Mara-
varas (76. 130, 246) or the Kallaras, the Golihalas and the Kunta-
varas (76. 246, 259) who are mentioned in the description of King
Parakkamabahu’s campaign against the Cola king Kulasekhara.
We learn from South Indian inscriptions that they for the first
time came to Ceylon with king Rajendra I by whom the conquest
of Ceylon mentioned above was completed in the first half of the
nth century (Wickremasinghe, Epigr. Zeyl., IL 247).
Since that time they had great influence in the Island serving as mer-
cenaries to the king. But they appear to have been a rather tumul-
tuous element within the army. Already about the year 1089 we
hear that they rebelled against king Vijayabahu I. The revolt was
put down and the leaders were punished with bloody cruelty (60.
35-44), i Half a century later they, suborned by Kittisirimegha and
SiriVailabha, deserted king Gajabahu, and, suppbrted, by their
5*3
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
defection, the two brothers attacked Rajarattha. But the king
defended his dominion successfully. We may assume that in this
case also a severe punishment of the mutinous mercenaries took place
(63. 24 sq).
Even during the reign of Parakkamabahu we hear of a Velak-
kara ,revolt. When the king began his campaign against Rohana
the Velakkaras banded themselves together with the Sihala and
Kerala mercenaries and revolted in order to profit by this opportu-
nity and to take possession of Rajarattha. However the mutiny was
suppressed by the king, the leaders were killed and the landed
property formerly granted to the mercenaries as payment was with-
drawn from them (74. 44 sq.).
T here is in Polonnaruva a fine slab erected by the Velakkaras
with a Tamil inscription which, as I believe, must be dated imme-
diately before the revolt that took place at the beginning of King
Gajabahu’s reign in the year 1137. The Velakkaras at that time,
as the self-confident and proud tone of the inscription shows, were
on the summit of their wealth and power, having regained their
former influence after the first rebellion against Vijayabahu in the
year 1089. In the inscription they declare their agreement to pro-
tect the temple of the Tooth Relic, though they were themselves
adherents of a Saiva sect. But on undertaking the control of that
sacred shrine they were so bold as to call it the property of the
Velakkaras and regarded it as their own charitable institution under
their entire support. So they assigned to it lands, guards, etc., for
its maintenance. (W ickremasinghe, Ep. Zeyl., II, p. 247)'
In the later chapters of the Mahavamsa we do not hear any
more of the Velakkaras, but in the 13th century Ariyas , i.e. Rajputs
'were serving as mercenaries of the Sinhalese king side by side with
Sihalas. Their leader bore the interesting name Thakuraka which
corresponds to the modem family name Tagore (Yule and
Burnell, Hobson-Jobson s.v. Thakoor). He is said to have
I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1938
12
514 Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
killed the usurper Mitta with his own hand, and after this resolute
deed the mercenaries banded themselves together and reinstated the
legitimate king Bhuvanekabahu in the royal dignity (90. 12 sq.).
3. The militia is called ‘the army dwelling in the country’
(ratthavasika sena Mhvs. 70-89, 75. 102) and were agriculturists who
were tilling and watering their fields and waiting for the harvest in
perpetual fear of demons who might annihilate the whole work; the
Sinhalese were never warlike people. The militia was, therefore,
of no great military value. C o r d i n e r, in his description of
Ceylon, as it was shortly after its occupation by the Englishmen,
says: ‘An attempt was made some years ago to train a body of
them (i.e. of the Sinhalese) as soldiers, but, after great perseverance,
it completely failed of success. A life* of military discipline proved,
in the highest degree, irksome and uncongenial to their habits.
They deserted in great numbers, and examples intended to terrify
only stimulated those who remained to abandon the service’ ( Ceylon ,
I, pp. 92-3). In mediaeval times the Sinhalese were hardly better
soldiers. We often read in the chronicle that the soldiers are run-
ning away on all sides as soon as they see themselves exposed to an
unexpected danger (Mhvs., 66. 89-90, 104; 67. 48). Such passages
are met with chiefly in that part of the chronicle the favourite hero
of which is Parakkamabahu, and it may sometimes have been the
unsophisticated chronicler s intention to exalt the king’s heroism in
comparison with his suite. But we also hear that a general of
king Gajabahu owing to an inauspicious dream fell from his bed
and ran away into the forest where he was wandering about during
the whole night, until at daybreak he reached his village. His
men too, when they heard of the general’s flight, left their weapons
behind and followed their lord in bewilderment (66. 47 sq.). Sd
ihuch seenas to be certain that such scenes were by no means strange
br xmusual, much less contemptible in the chronicler’s eyes.
General Gokanna’s army which was made ready by him in all
5 J 5
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
haste for warding off Parakkamabahu’s general Mayageha consisted
of the troops sent to him by king Gajabahu, of his own former army
and of the army dwelling in the country, that is, of regular troops
and militia. Apparently the militia was the last hope. The
minor Manabharana is said to have armed the able-bodied inhabi-
tants of his two provinces, the two portions of Rohana Atthasahas-
saka and Dvadasasahassaka (balarn ratthadvayanivasinam 70. 187;
cf. 70. 260) in order to be ready for war, if Parakkamabahu should
succeed in conquering Pulatthinagara and then menace Rohana. In
the ensuing war two generals of Parakkamabahu, Deva and Kitti,
who had too far penetrated into the province of Rohana, were en-
circled by the hostile army together with the militia-men (sakalarati-
vahini sa-ratthavasika 72. 127). In the later war when general
Rakkha attacked the Rohana troops in the flank near Simatalatthali
his unexpected appearance caused surprise and terror among the
rebels and they called upon the militia for assistance in this dan-
gerous situation (75-102).
As militia men the Vyadhas took a particular position in Parak-
kamabahu’s army (69. 20; cf. below). The word is here, no doubt,
the Pali equivalent of the modern Vadda, the name of the wild tribe;
of huntsmen who are believed to be the remnant of the aboriginal
population of Ceylon. It is obvious that these people who were
intimately acquainted with the wilderness, could be of good service
to a commander of troops as scouts or guides. In a similar connec-
tion the word kirata occurs in 72. 208. It is said here that the
Kiratas were skilled in wandering by night in the wilderness of
forest and mountain and slew many people by night and day. In
Sanskrit and Pali kirata denotes a wild jungle-man of dwarfish
stature. Can it be that the Mhvs. 72. 208 preserves the memory of
a race of pygmies formerly living in some districts of S.E. Ceylon
Traditions concerning such a race are mentioned in Journal R. A.
Soc., Ceylon Br. XXIII, no. 67, 1914, p. 288. sq.
516
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
Even professional thieves practised in house-breaking ( samdhi -
bhedassa kusata cora 70-168) were employed in war by Parakkama-
bahu. They were sent by him in the middle of the night to a forti-
fied camp ( dugga ) erected by the enemy to undermine it with sharp
antelope horns ( migasihgani ) and so to take it. Antelope horn was
perhaps the name of an iron-instrument comparable to a miner’s
pick. Coras were also engaged in the siege and capture of Pulatthi-
nagara (70. 285).
4. The traditional name in India for a complete army is the
four-membered army ‘( sena caturahgim in the ancient Alahavamsa,
18. 29 etc., and in its mediaeval portion, 70, 217 etc.), because it is
composed of elephants, horses, chariots, and foot soldiers. In the
13th century the four constituent parts of the army of Parakkama-
bahu II were the viramahayodha, the great warriors, i.e. the foot
soldiers, hattbipaka, the elephant drivers; turahgasadi , the horsemen;
and rathino, the charioteers’ (88. 34). This however seems to be but
a poetical paraphrase of the traditional name which in fact hardly
suits the mediaeval Sinhalese army; for I believe that H. W.
Codrington ( 1 . 1 . p. 69) is right, when be says : , ‘In the
twelfth century there is no indication of the existence of organised
units of elephants, chariots, or cavalry in Ceylon; indeed the thickly
wooded nature of the country, in which the operations took place,
renders it very doubtful whether they could have been used to any
extent.’
It is true that in the earlier centuries of the mediaeval period
elephants were used as animals for riding in battle by kings or their
substitutes (41. 23, 47 sq.; 50. 21 sq.). But otherwise elephants are
never mentioned in the description of a battle. In 70. 228 sq. we
hear that king Gajabahu’s generals when preparing the final resis-
tance placed in readiness well-armoured elephants but this is hardly
more than a poetical phrase, for in the following chapters we do not
learn anything about their employment. Parakkamabahu is said
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
5*7
(69. 22-3) to have brought up many sons of distinguished families
in his own palace with the wish that people skilled in the art of riding
elephants and horses should increase in number. This notice, how-
ever, does not concern but sport, and bodily training in general,
not military exercise especially. The Ramanas contrary to the
Sinhalese were using elephants in war. When, therefore, Parak-
kamabahu prepared the Ramanna campaign, he provided his soldiers
with a peculiar sort of arrows for the defence of those animals (76.
48);
As to horses, in one case only it is related that a royal prince,
Kassapa, the younger brother of king Sena I, was on horseback, in
battle (30. 26-28) but we may infer from the narration itself that
this was something extraordinary. In the Cola army cavalry was
numerous and the report in the Mabavamsa on Parakkamabahu’s
war with Kulasekhara clearly shows how much the Sinhalese were
impressed by this fact. The capture of many horses in the
various battles is repeatedly exalted by the chronicler (76. 100, 298,
33 1 )-
The bulk of the mediaeval Sinhalese army consisted of foot
soldiers with the baggage train ( bala-vahana ). Even the officers
(samantaj were never on horseback. Their conveyance was a palan-
quin, on the march as well as in battle, as we may infer from 72-100
(Culavamsa, trsl. I, p. 328, n. 2; H. W. Cod ring ton, 1 . 1 .,
p. 75). We must, therefore, also translate the word yana, generally
meaning a vehicle, in this connection with palanquin; not with
chariot (70. 85, 122). The badge of the officers was an umbrella
probably cf different colour (66. 49; 70. 122), as the white umbrella
was that of the king.
Trumpets and drums are frequently mentioned in the chronicle.
It is shown by the word sahkba (85. 113; 89. 46; Sk. Sahkha ) that
what we call trumpets were conches. They are often called vic-
torious or auspicious shells ( jayasahkba 65. 27; 88. 75; mahgala-
518 Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
sahkha 74. 222). From 72-1 19 pahca-mahasadda-sankha-nada (filled)
with the din of the five loud clanging conches we may perhaps
infer that so many forms or kinds of conches were in use.
The words for ‘drum’ are more various. It is a well-known
fact that the Sinhalese people are very fond of drumming and beating
the drums with admirable rhythmic art. More than sixty sorts
of drums exist now in Ceylon, of large or small size, one-beaded
or double, narrow or wide in the middle, each bearing a peculiar
name. It must have also been the same, or nearly the same in
the mediaeval period. The most common name for a military drum
is bheri (Sk. id., Smh. beraya ), also ranabheri battle drum
or jaya-bheri victorious drum (70. 227; 75-104; 76-161 88. 75).
Other words are kdhala (74. 222; 75. 104; Sk. and Sinh. loanword
id.), dundubhi (85. 113; Sk., Sinh id.), dlambara (69. 20; Sk.
adambara) and, mentioned in the latest part of the chronicle, mad-
dala (96. 15; 99. 46; Sk. mardala). We may notice here that in
time of peace drum-beating and blast of trumpets were never lacking
on festive occasions (72. 315, 74. 221), and that public proclama-
tions used to be made by beat of drum.
Flags (dhaja 85. 114) were also in use in the Sinhalese army.
King Gajabahu boasts that all his enemies were taking to flight
because they could not behold his victorious flag (jayaddhajam 70.
225; cf. 88. 75). According to a later passage (99.44,18th cent.)
we may assume that the militia contingents of the different districts
were distinguished by different flags, probably by flags of different
colours.
5. In the Mahavamsa five kinds of weapons ( pancayudha or
°dv° 41. 48; dasaddbayudha 70. 229) are distinguished, but they
are never enumerated. Clough in his Sinhalese Dictionary
s.v. says they were sword, spear, bow, battle-axe, and shield.
This is hardly correct, for the shield cannot be called dyudha which
always denotes an offensive weapon; nor do . I know whether the
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon 319
battle-axe was ever in use among the Sinhalese . I think that pan-
cayudha was simply a traditional name similar to caturahgirii sena,
and used by the chronicler without considering the actualities.
The first and foremost weapons were bouJ (capa, dhanu ) and
arrows (sara, bana, usu, salld). The archer is called dhanuggaha
(70. 1 16; 72. 244; Sk. dhanurgraha ), dhanuddhara (83. 45; Sk.
dhanurdhardj or issasa (72. 245; Sk. isvasa ), the archery dhanusippa.
It is a phrase often met with in the chronicle that the archers
rain an uninterrupted shower of arrows on the enemy (saravassa
66. 27; 70. 1 14; 72. 134, 246, 250; saravutthi 74. 96; banavutthi
74. 1 17). Whether poisoned arrows were ever used by the Sinhalese
is extremely doubted. It is true that poisoned arrows are mentioned
in the chronicle but only among the Ramanas and the Javakas.
Parakkamabahu had provided lus soldiers whom he sent to
Ramanna, with medicine, preserved in cow horns for the healing of
venomous wounds caused by poisoned arrows ( yisa-pitasalla - 76-49).
And the Javakas who had invaded Ceylon in the 13th century are
said to have harrassed the people with their poisoned arrows (visa-
diddhehi banehi 83. 38) likened to terrible snakes; they even shot
such arrows swiftly one after another from a machine (83. 44). It
appears from the tone of these reports that here the chronicler is
touching a strange foreign custom which was unknown and un-
heard of to the Sinhalese people and looked to them like a diabolic
practice.
A peculiar kind of arrows is called gokannaka, probably after
their form. The word corresponds to Sk. gokarna which occurs in
the Mahabharata in the same meaning. Such sharp-pointed
(tikkhagga) arrows were used for defence against elephants (76. 48).
Archery was highly developed and esteemed in India as well
as in Ceylon. Kitti, afterwards king Vijayabahu I, is'praised for his
skill in the use of the bow already in his thirteenth year (57- ' 43 )*
In the army raised by Parakkamabahu there was a troop of excellent
520 Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
archers, called, moon-light archers (canddlokadhanuddhara 69. 19)
because they were versed in night-fighting. In the ancient Maha-
vamsa 23.86 archers are mentioned who hit their mark guided only
by sound ( sadda-vedbino ) and others who were able to hit a hair
(yala-vedhino) and others who hit their mark by the light of a light-
ning ( yijju-vedbino ). The last group is mentioned in the mediae-
val period also: akkhanavedhino issasa (72. 245), and we shall be
allowed to assume that the other groups were not unknown at the
same time.
6. For the sword we come across the names ast, kbagga (Sk.
asi, khadga) and less frequently tharu ( Mhvs 69. 22; Sk. tsam),
but it does not seem that different forms of the sword are
denoted by those words. They are merely synonymous. The
sword was used in hand-to-hand fighting, and sparks were flying
from the clash of swords in such a combat (72. 84). Training in the
manipulation of the sword as well as in that of the bow belonged
to the education of princes and sons of noble families (64. 4;
69. 22). The Sihalas, after having vanquished the Javakas, got as
booty their elephants and horses, their swords and many other
weapons together with their trumpets, drums, and flags (88. 74).
The sword was the principal weapon in the hand of the king (66. 24,
31, 108), and two royal swords are distinguished in 72,' 102 sq., one
being called the Jambudipa blade and the other the Sihala blade.
The latter appears to have been the more terrible weapon. The
dagger {churika 39. 27; asiputtaka 41. 24; nikkarani 44. 112) is
mentioned as royal weapon. It was also weapon of the Kerala mer-
cenaries (55. 6) and among the different regiments of Parakkama-
bahu’s army there was also that of the dagger bearers ( churika gga -
haka 69. 24).
The heavy lance (kunta) is often mentioned in the
chronicle. In ancient Ceylon a lance with a relic was the badge and
standard of king Dutthagamani (25- 1, 2 6, 9 sq.). In the lyth cent.
5 21
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
bows, swords, lances, etc. ( dhanukhaggakuntadini 96. 14; cf. 99’ 49)
were the weapons of the foot soldiers. The spears given by Parak-
kamabahu to the Vyadhas (69. 20) were probably javelins. The
word sattika used in this passage is Sk. sakti + suff . ka. Another
word for a dart or some other light missile is samara. Parakka-
mabahu’s warriors who had taken up a position in the stronghold
of Aligama killed many enemies with arrows, darts and javelins
(usti-tomara-sattihi 70. 1 16) which they flung from the turrets of the
gate. The meaning of sattba is doubtful. The pursuers of king
Bhuvanekabahu are said to have pierced the king’s litter tikkha-
satthehi so that everything was in tatters. The king sprang to the
ground from his litter and fled by foot (90. 7-8). My translation
was, ‘with their pointed spears’ ( Culavamsa , trsl. II, 4 . 1 .), but, with
their sharp swords (Cf. Sk. sastra ) would perhaps be better. We
have seen above that light missiles were shot by the Javakas from a
machine (yanta ). Such a machine from which stones were hurled,
apparently something like a catapult, was also in use among the
Sinhalese (72. 251).
An ancient and primitive weapon was the club (muggara). It
is however remarkable that even Parakkamabahu enrolled in the
army raised by him several thousand soldiers, tall men and strong,
who were armed with clubs ( muggarike yodhe 69. 17). The most
ancient weapon was, therefore, not yet out of use in the 12th cen-
tury.
Among the defensive arms ( kavacani 69. 7, 38, or vamma 76.
47, opposite to ayudhani ) the shield (phalaka'j must be mentioned.
It was probably made of wood but it is doubtful whether it was
always worn and by all soldiers. When Parakkamabahu was
attacked in the wilderness by a dreadful bear he forced the beast
down with the edge of his shield and killed it with his sword (67.
42). In 74. 73 it is said that two generals of Parakkamabahu pro-
vided for their troops arrow protectives consisting of buffalo-skin’
I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1938
*3
522
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
(mahisacammamaye banavarane). It seems that leathern doublets are
meant by this expression; but their use was apparently an isolated
case.
7. When war is imminent it is necessary first of all to provide
the food supply for both the army in the field and the population at
home. Therefore Parakkambahu, ere he began the campaign
against Rajarattba, took care in every possible way to enlarge the
cultivable area of his province so that he might be able to store a
large quantity of grain ( 'Mhvs 68. 7 - 53 ). His financial reform
served the same purpose (69. 27 sq.}. We need not add that also
stores of armour and weapons of every kind and many other things
formed parts of the war material (yuddhopakarana 69. 5, 14). For
the war in Ramanna the king had supplied for his army not only the
iron arrows against elephants and medicine for the healing of veno-
mous wounds, but also armour and weapons in abundance, and pro-
visions for a whole year such as rice and the like, as well as all kinds
of remedies for curing the poison of infected water in the many
swampy stretches of the country; also iron pincers for extracting
arrow-heads which are difficult to move when they have pierced
deeply and the shaft has broken. The army was also accompanied
by skilful physicians and serving women (thiyo paricarika) who were
to attend sick and wounded soldiers (76. 47 sq.y
The soldiers themselves were trained for the military profession
already at peace by manoeuvres. Parakkamabahu in order to test
the fitness of his men arranged fights on the street, sifted out the
most skilled people and dismissed those unfitted for fight. They
were to till the fields and perform other works living at home (69.
37-8). Sham-fights (yodbakila ) in which the soldiers could show
their skill in handling the weapons were also in use (89. 26, 31).
Before the beginning of the war against Rajarattha Parakkama-
bahu is said to have worked out with ingenuity in a way suited to
the locality and the time, and the plan of campaign. He did so
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
5 2 3
with careful study of literary works valuable for carrying on
war, such as the text-book of Kotalla, i.e. the Kautaliya Artha-
sdstra, and the Yuddhannava, probably a part of the A gnipurdna
which bears the separate title Yuddbajaydrnava. The plan was
written down and handed out to the officers with the strict order not
to swerve by a hair’s breadth from the king’s instruction (70. 56-8).
It is however impossible to carry through a war successfully
without an accurate knowledge of the military power of the hostile
king and of the political and financial situation of his country. Such a
knowledge must be acquired by espionage. Prince Parakkamabahu
is said to have done so (66. 126 sq .) during his sojourn at king
Gajabahu’s court in Pulatthinagara. We niust not accept this re-
port as historical in its details, for the chronicler followed here, as I
have shown in Beitrdge zur Literaturwissenscbaft und Geistesge-
schichte Indiens (in honour of H. Jacobi), p. 418 sq., the text of
the Kautaliya. He wished to describe his hero as a ruler who in all
his qualities corresponded to the ideal of an Indian king who is
versed in the niti.
The prince is said to have sought out clever and astute men and
sent them forth in various disguises in order to become acquainted
with the people in the outlying districts, whilst he himself confined
his observations and inquires to the town and its inhabitants. In
the enumeration of these spies in the Mahdvamsa the ascetic
(tdpasa 66. 135) corresponds to the tdpasa in the Kautaliya, the poiso-
ner (rasakriyabhinna 66. 138) to the rasada, the sorcerer and fortune-
teller (bbutavijjavidu 66. 138, samuddikddikdnekalakkhanannu
66. 132) to the samedhika (cf. ahgavidya ), and the itinerant trader
selling glass bangles and similar trifles to the vaidehaka ( Kaut ., I.
11 and 12). In order also to find out among the king’s dignitaries
those whom he could win over and to apply the right method for
doing so he tried to distinguish between those who were ambitious
( abhimdnino ), those who nursed a grudge ( samkuddba ), those who
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
524
were afraid ( bhita ), and those who were avaricious (luddba 66. 142).
These four-groups exactly correspond, even in. wording, to the
manivarga, kuddhavarga, bhitavarga and lubdhavarga in the
Kautaliya , I. 14.
There are some more spies of other character mentioned in the
Mabavamsa as well as in the Artbasastra. But so much seems to be
certain that the Kautaliya and perhaps also other works of the Indian
niti literature were well-known and eagerly studied in mediaeval
Ceylon, and what they taught was probably also applied by the
kings as far as it was possible or advisable. It is however very im-
probable that Parakkamabahu personally practised espionage at
Gajabahu’s court, as it is described in the chronicle; for such an
activity was too risky and could hardly be kept secret.
8. As to the war itself four ‘means of success’ ( upaya ) are
mentioned in the chronicle 58. 3. The same distinction occurs
in the Indian sastras. In the Kautaliya the four stratagems are
enumerated (II. 10; Shamasastry, ed. 2 p. 74;^ trsl., 84); bheda
division of the enemy; danda open war, offensive; sama friendly
negotiations, danani gifts or bribes. The character of the war itself
was mainly depending on that of the country. In the mediaeval
times Ceylon was, for the greatest part, thickly covered with forest,
and frequently the assistance of scouts ( cara 66. 99; 75. 64) was
necessary to show to the soldiers a road leading through the
wilderness. They were probably recruited from the local militia,
perhaps also from forest tribes (see above in 3). Often the war was
hardly more than a guerilla (corayuddba 75. 133). In this respect
the description of the beginning of the second Rohana campaign is
very interesting (75. 1-18).
In the first campaign the sacred relics of the dathadbatu and
the pattadhatu had been captured by Parakkamabahu’s generals
(74. 138). That was certainly an important moral success. But
in order to achieve the main object of the whole undertaking, the
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
5 2 5
subjection of the province, the king was forced to begin a new cam-
paign. He first intended to invade Rohana from north-east
through the districts of Dighavapi and Guttasala, now Buttala.
The resistance offered by the Rohana people was apparently weak,
but when it seemed to have been suppressed at one place, it at once
broke out anew in another. In spite of the victories reported by
his generals the king gave up his plan and decided to attack the
province from its north-west frontier. After the first defeats in
this final phase of the terrible war, the Rohana people themselves
proclaimed the guerilla. They said : ‘Save the wilderness, there
is for us no other protection. In every way our land is furnished
with mountain wildernesses and the like. Therefore at all inacces-
sible places let us throw up many entrenchments, make all the
well-known high ways impassable, lay down many robbers’ paths
( [coramagge ), and when our land has been made impassable let
us gather ourselves together and open battle’ (75-'3 I '33)-
. An ambuscade is described in 66. 72 sq. Prince Parakkama-
bahu on his way to Pulatthinagara was pursued by his uncle’s officers
and their troops who had been sent forth to bring him back. When
he heard at Buddhagama that they were approaching, he left in front
space for the advancing army and placed his bravest men in ambush
on both sides of the road. Then when the whole of the hostile
force had advanced to the centre he suddenly fell upon them and
had numbers of soldiers cut down. In a similar manner when
Gajabahu’s troops approached the stronghold of Mihiranabibbila,
the warriors of Parakkamabahu feigned as if they were giving way,
and thus enticed the enemy into an ambush of soldiers who had
been hidden in the forest and suddenly made a dash on them
(72. 246 sq).
The tactics of outflanking the enemy were also known. We
can hardly understand the undertakings of the Damiladhikarin
Rakkha against Mahanagahula in the final stage of the Rohana
526
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
campaign, if we do not assume such a method of warfare (75. 83
sq.). The basis of Rakkha’s operation was Donivagga, that is the
district round Pelmadulla, S.E. of Ratnapura, from here he first
tried to advance directly to Mahanagahula along the road which at
present runs through primeval forest from Madampe to Ambalan-
tota. But he realised that a break through along this highway was
impossible and we hear in v. 98 that he marched with a' strong force
to Sukaralibheripasana.That is a place near the modern Deniyaya,
south of the Rakvana mountain range. Obviously Rakkha had crossed
this range on the Bulutota pass and thus made on outflanking man-
oeuvre. The enemies were surprised and alarmed, for they had not
expected an attack from this side because the road leading from
Donivagga to Navayojana, i.e. the Bulutota pass was very difficult
(75. 72) to negotiate and they had not sufficiently secured their left
flank. Rakkha won the ensuing battle and was able to advance to
the hostile capital.
The descriptions in the chronicle of a battle are of no great
interest. They are always made according to a certain poetical
model. The simile is generally a thunder-storm. The soldiers are
pouring out a rain of arrows, or the arrows are the cloud by which
the heavens are darkened. The battle-cry of the warriors is com-
pared to the thunder, the sparks flying from the clash of swords are
like the lightnings (72. 84; 75. 63, 110-11, 131-32 etc.) In
a very artificial and fictitious passage (76. 160-61) the battle-field
is compared to the ocean in a heavy storm. Often a general is
said to be a lion that has broken into a herd of elephants or gazelles
(72. 2-3, 69).
A peculiar heroic feature in battles of ancient times was the
single combat between the leaders of the two armies. That of
Dutthagamani and Elara near the southern gate of Anuradhapura
(25. 67 sq.) is a classical example. In the mediaeval period such a com-
bat is mentioned between Dathapabhuti and his brother Moggallana,
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon 527
6th c. (41. 49). In later times we do not hear any more o£ such
heroic deeds. King Vijayabahu I, 1059-1116, is said, it is true, to
have challenged the Cola king (60. 30 sq.), but this was rather a
theatrical pose or a poetical exaggeration. 1 he single combat never
took place. In his adventurous youth Prince Parakkamabahu some-
times is reported to have personally taken part in fighting (66. 103-4;
67. 48), if this is not simply an embellishment of the narration
made by the chronicler who wished to exalt the bravery of his
favourite hero. After he had become king, Parakkamabahu in all
his wars generally remains behind the army in the headquarters or
in the capital sending therefrom his commands to the generals in
the field. Once when he was present in the most critical phase of a
battle against Manabharana he cried for his sword (72. 102).
However he made no use of it, but looked significantly at the faces
of his generals who had given way, but turned now again towards
the enemy and flung themselves into the midst of the hostile army.
* The victory (jay a; opp. para jay a, par'd bhava) was celebrated
by a festive entrance into the capital of the victorious army.
When the dignitaries of Parakkamabahu had finished the Rohana
campaign and occupied the whole province they marched at the
head of their troops to Pulatthinagara. Accompanied by the
dwellers of the city who played music, shouted with joy and waving
cloths let their cries of victory resound, they drew near the palace
and rendered honiage to the monarch (75. 200 sq.).
After a successful war the heads of the hostile officers who had
been killed in battle together with their umbrellas and palanquins,
the weapons captured during the campaign, and the captives caught
alive were sent to the king (70. 122), and the victorious generals
were honoured by titles and ornaments (abharandni 72. 320) corres-
ponding to our medals.
Naval battles are mentioned at the beginning of Parakkama-
bahu’s war with Gajabahu and were fought by the king’s generals,
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
5 28
in the middle of the sea ‘near a place called Muttakara.’ This
name and the fact that pearls were captured as booty seem to prove
that the Gulf of Mannar was the seat of this naval war (70. 63 sq.,
91 sq.). Some of the Sinhalese kings also sent ships across the sea
to Southern India to wage war with the Pandus and Colas. Thus
did Sena II in the 9th cent., Kassapa V and Udaya IV in the 10th
cent., and Parakkamabahu I in the 12th cent., (51. 22 sq., 52. 70 sq.,
53. 46 sq., 76. 86 sq.). The latter even is said to have made an
enterprise against Ramanna (76. 44 sq.). In none of these cases we
hear that a naval battle was given by the enemies in order to repel
the aggressors. When Parakkamabahu sent many hundred ships,
which sailed a day and a night on the back of the ocean, to Southern
India the Damilas restricted themselves to defend the coast and to
prevent the Sinhalese army from landing (76. 89 sq.). As the
ships had to lie in deep water the Sinhalese commander made the
troops get into hundreds of boats of small size. In order to protect
them from the rain of arrows that came dying from the Danujas
who were standing on the coast, he had shields made of leather set
up in front of the soldiers. Thus he landed on the coast and after
putting to flight the Damijas he took up a firm position near the
harbour.
9. Fortified camps or temporary fortresses (H. W. C o d r i n g-
t o n, 1.1. p. 70) played a great part in the wars in mediaeval Ceylon.
The same was the case in main India since ancient times. The
first chapter of the tenth book, on war in the Kautal'tya contains
the rules concerning the laying out of a fortified camp ( skandha -
vara-nivesa Shamasastry, ed. 2 p. 363; trsl., p. 437). In the
Mahavamsa the word for such a fortress is khandhavara exactly cor-
responding to the expression used in the Kautaliya. It is met with
already in the oldest part of the chronicle (10. 46; 25. 20; 37. 19),
and in the fifth century king Dhatusena waging warfare with the
Damilas who at that time had ravaged Ceylon, is said to have laid
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
529
out such camps in the Island, twenty-one in number ( khandbavare
nivesetva 38. 36). But the expression khandbavara rather occurs
seldom in later chapters (70. 138, 16 1, 167); it is replaced by
dugga (cf. 35. 28; 58. 42). This word corresponds tc durga in the
Kautaliya (e.g. durga-nivesa 2. 4 s.f.; td. 2 p. 57 11 ) which however
here as well as in the Mahabhdrata appears to denote a permanent
rather than a temporary structure (cf. Kaut., 2. 2; ed. 2 , p. 1 14
durgavidhand).
Fortified camps were constructed wherever the army had
reached an opportune position in order to serve as entrenchments
against sudden attacks and as basis for further operations. In the
history of Parakkamabahu s campaigns against Rajarattha and
Rohana many duggas are enumerated, and the names of the places
where they were laid out sometimes enables 11s to state the vicissi-
tudes in war which so often are veiled in the chronicler’s report.
As an example I shall excerpt the description of the military
operation of Senapati Deva who commanded the troops in the dis-
trict Giriba, south of Kalaveva. He first raised an encampment
on the bank of the Kalavapi river. Then he threw a bridge across
this river, marched off and built a new encampment near Ahgamu
and took up a position there. The leader of the hostile army did
the same at a place called Senagama. After it had been captured
by Deva the enemy built four encampments more, apparently in
order to stop the advance of Deva, but they were all successively
taken away by Parakkamabahu s general (70. 123-136). The word
for, ‘encampment’ is always dugga; one only which was erected by
Gajabahu s officers near Terigama is called (v. 138) khandbavara.
When after the death of Manabharana 2 the Rohana people
wished to save their independence and were expecting the invasion
of Parakkamabahu’s army, they built at each difficult spot as far as
the frontier of the province many camps, had trenches dug
everywhere, placed there barricades and made the roads in-
J.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1938
>4
53 ° Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon
accessible with felled trees. Then they took up their place in one
of those camps (74. 31-35). But the general Rakkha having broken
through three different fortifications advanced up to a big forest
where the Rohana people had laid out one behind the other seven
fortified camps (74. 55 -66). Here Rakkha’s advance came to a
standstill, and the seven strongholds were conquered only when his
army had been enforced by the troops of the general Bhuta (74.
75-6). In this passage the term dugga is used for all those camps
and fortifications.
Such a temporary fortress which was erected by Parakkama-
bahu’s officers near Mihiranabibbila is described (72. 232-53) in
detail. They had stakes made like spear-points and driven into the
ground. Outside these they had stakes of greater size driven
in and had them interwoven with branches. Between the two
rows of stakes they had a trench dug with pitfalls, and similar
trenches at other places also. Then they had the big forest felled
round the camp over a tract two or three bow-shots in extent. The
footpath leading through the wilderness was made impracti-
cable by sharp thorns which were covered with sand and withered
leaves. In the middle of the fortification ( dugga-majjhamhi , v. 244)
a structure of four storeys was erected, from which when the enemy
approached the archers rained a hail of arrows and stones, and burn-
ing sharp-pointed bamboo rods were hurled from engines.
10. Imposing strongholds were built in Ceylon on some of
those isolated gneiss rocks which rise abruptly from the lowland
and form such a characteristic feature of the landscape. The most
famous example is the Sigiri rock (Sihagiri) with its stronghold
erected already in the 5th century by king Kassapa I ( Mhvs 39.
2-3). A similar stronghold was that on the Vatagiri, now Vakirigala
ill the Kegalla district (58. 31, 60. 39), built in the nth century.
Others were erected in those times of terrible perturbance when
Magha was reigning in Ceylon 1214-35, by Sinhalese noblemen
Army and War in Mediaeval Ceylon 531
who wished to maintain their independence, as in Dakkhinadesa on
the Subha mountain, now Yapahu ( = yasa-pabbata), and on the rock
of Jambuddani, modern Dambademya, and in Rohana on the
Govindasela rock which is now called Westminster Abbey (81. 2-6,
I 5‘ l6 )-
The big towns, especially the capital cities of Anuradhapura
and Pulatthinagara, were fortified with wall and moat, with turrets
and bastions (cf. below). Defence and besiege of strongholds are
described often enough in the chronicle but generally in a conven-
tional form. The defence of a fortified camp has been quoted
above in 9. In a similar manner the stronghold of Aligama was
defended by general Rakkha. When Gajabahu’s troops attacked
it, the Sihala archers standing on the gate-turrets, slew numbers of
the foe with various missiles. Other warriors took up their position
at the gates which the enemy tried to blow up. The combat ended
with a sally of the Sihalas who suddenly burst forth and cut down
the foe (70. 1 12 sq.).
The stronghold Semponmari in the Pandu country was cap-
tured by the Sihalas within half a day. After they had broken
through two outer-walls and four gate-towers, they penetrated into
the interior of the fortress and slew there the Damilas, many thou-
sands in number (76. 241 sq.). When Parakkamabahu after many
actions approached Pulatthinagara and had sent in advance his
light troops, the Vyadhas and Kiratas, the dwellers in Pulatthi-
nagara were living as in a besieged town. As circulation on all the
roads leading to the city was stopped by those troops they dared not
even by day leave their houses and go outside the gate when
they wanted supply of water and wood. In the shops here and
there on the outskirts of the town the various businesses were com-
pletely given up (72. 209 sq.). When captured by storm the towns
were plundered and destroyed in the most reckless manner.
W. Geiger
The Early Home of the Imperial Guptas
I-Tsing visited India in A.D. 671 or 672 and returned to China
in A.D. 693-694. In his I(au-fa-kao-sang-chuen, an account
of fifty-six Buddhist pilgrims, who visited India, he narrates that
‘about forty stages to the east of the temple of Nalanda, descending
the Ganges, one arrives at the temple of Mrgasikhavana. “Tradi-
dition says that formerly a Maharaja called Sri-Gupta built this
temple for the use of Chinese priests. He was prompted to do so
by the arrival of about twenty priests of that country who had travel-
led from Sz’chuen to Mahabodhi Temple to pay their worship.
Being impressed by their pious demeanour, he gave them the land
and the revenues of about twenty villages as an endowment. This
occurred some 300 years ago.
I-Tsing’ s report places Maharaja Gupta some time between
A.D. .173 and 194. The grandfather of the Maharajadhiraja
Candragupta I was, as is known from the Gupta inscriptions, the
Maharaja Sri-Gupta. 2 As Candragupta ascended the throne in
A.D. 319, Gupta is to be placed in the second half of the third
century A.D. Fleet remarks that' 1 “as it is now certain that the era
used by the early Guptas commenced from A.D. 319-20, chc
Maharaja Sri-Gupta, mentioned by I-Tsing and referred by him to
about A.D. 175, cannot be identified with the founder of the early
Gupta family, who lived in the fourth century A.D.” Allan is, cn
the other hand, inclined to identify I-Tsing’s Sri-Gupta with the
grandfather of Candragupta I, “considering the lapse of time and the
1 Chavannes, Voyages des Pelcrins Bouddhistes , p. 82. A plus de quarante
relais (yojanas) a Test du temple Na-lan-t’ouo (Nalanda), en descendant le K’iang-
kia (Gange), on arrive au temple Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no (Mrgasikhavana). Beal,
Life of Hmen Tstang ) Introduction, xxvi,
2 CII. 3 p. 15.
3 Ibid., p. 8, f.n. 3.
533
The Early Home of the Imperial Guptas
fact that the Chinese pilgrim gives this information on the authority
of a tradition, handed down from ancient time by old men.” 4 * * * * 9
Following this identification Allan concludes that Pataliputra had
been in the possession of the Guptas since the time of the Maharaja
Sri-Giipta.
Needless to mention that the traditional report generally lacks
precision. Hiuen Tsang, depending on the traditional report
places Budhagupta (A.D. 477) in the pre-Christian era.' 1 He also
places Siladitya, king of Malava, sixty years before his visit to Malava
i.e. in A.D. 580. h But a record of the Maitrakas establishes that
Siladitya was ruling in A.D. 609. 7 Hence Allan’s view that
f-Tsing’s Gupta is identical with Gupta, the founder of the Gupta
dynasty, cannot be rejected simply on the ground that the tradition
removes one from the other by nearly one hundred years.
The scholars, though they differ from cne another in regard to
the identification of the two kings as one and the same, agree in
thinking that I-Tsmg’s Gupta ruled in Pataliputra, the capital of
Magadha. But the discussions made below will prove that their
location of Gupta’s kingdom is faulty.
According to I-Tsing, as has already been noticed, the temple
of Mrgasikhavana is forty stages east of Nalanda, descending the
Ganges. Shortly after this statement I-Tsing lays down that
Nalanda is seven stages north-east of Mahabodhi.” Cunningham’s
map places Nalanda forty miles north-east of Bodh Gaya.” This
makes one stage of I-Tsing equal to nearly six miles (55/7 miles).
Mrgasikhavana, which is, according to the above calculation, two
4 Gupta Coins , Intro, p. xv. 5 Beal’s Life, p. no.
6 Beal’s Records , II, p. 261.
7 Bom . Gaz., vol. I, pt. I.
8 Voyages des Pelertns Bouddhistcs, p. 84 — A plus de sept rclais (yojanas) au
nord-est du temple de la Grande Intelligence (Mahabodhi), on arrive au temple
Na-lao-t’ouo (Nalanda)”.
9 ASI., XV, pi. 1.
534
The Early Home of the Imperial Guptas
hundred and twenty-eight miles east of Nalanda, following the bank
of the Ganges, is to be placed in the Murshidabad District', Bengal.
That Gupta held sway over at least some part of Bengal, finds cor-
roboration in another statement of I-Tsing. I-Tsing states that the
land, which the king Gupta granted to the temple of Mrgasikha-
vana, “has now reverted to the king of Eastern India, whose name is
Devavarma, but he is said to be willing to give back the temple-
land and the endowment in case any priests come from China. ” lu
I-Tsing’s report places Magadha in Mid-India , 11 and lays down
that Tamralipti 1 ' and Harikela (Ho-li-kt-lou ) 1-1 are respectively the
southern and eastern limits of Eastern India. Harikela is the other
name of Vanga, modern East Bengal. Dr. R. C. Majumdar 11
identifies Devavarma with the king Devakhadga of the Khadga
dynasty of East Bengal. In this circumstance the temple-land,
which reverted to Devavarma, does not seem to have been situated
in Magadha, but in East India.
The above discussion leads to a definite conclusion that
I-Tsing’ s Gupta held sway over the Murshidabad District.
If Allan is right in identifying I-Tsing’s Sri-Gupta with Sri-
Gupta, the founder of the Gupta dynasty, doubt may be reasonably
entertained whether Magadha was an early possession of the Imperial
Guptas. Possession of Magadha by Sri-Gupta would imply that his
kingdom extended from the District of Shahabad, Bihar, to the Dis-
trict of Murshidabad, Bengal. The Gupta inscriptions 15 describe
Sri-Gupta as a Maharaja, a title indicative of lower political status. It
is unlikely that a petty ruler of Sri-Gupta’s status held sway over
an extensive territory, comprising the Districts of Shahabad, Patna,
10 Beal’s Lije, Intro., p. xxvii.
11 Life of Hiuen Tisang, Intro., p. xx.
12 Ibid p. xxx.
1 3 Voyage* des Pelerins Bouddhistcs, p. 106.
14 Early History of Bengal
14 Fleet’s Gupta Inscriptions .
535
The Early Home of the Imperial Guptas
Gaya, Monghyr, Bhagalpur, and Murshidabad, including Santal
Parganas. Moreover the evidence, hitherto available, will not sup-
port the conclusion that Sri-Gupta’s kingdom extended beyond
Murshidabad.
Thus the early home of the Imperial Guptas is to be located in
Murshidabad, Bengal, and not in Magadha.
Some coins bearing the legend Candra (gupta I) are known . 1,1
They demonstrate the marriage between Candragupta I and the
Licchavi princess, Kumaradevi. V. A. Smith , 17 while discussing
the importance of these coins, remarks — “It seems probable that at
the time of this fateful union the Licchavis were masters of the
ancient imperial city (Pataliputra), and that Candragupta I by means
of his matrimonial alliance, succeeded to the power previously held
by his wife’s relatives.” Allan 18 criticises Smith’s view by point-
ing out that “I-Tsing’s evidence suggests that Pataliputra was in
the possession of the Guptas even in Gupta’s time.” In his opinion
Candragupta conquered Vaisali from the Licchavis, and “that hrs
marriage with Kumaradevi was one of the terms of the treaty of
peace.”
But the above discussions show that Smith’s view, viz. that
the Licchavis were in possession of Pataliputra in the early part of
Candragupta’s reign, cannot be rejected simply on the ground that
the city was in the possession of the Guptas from the time of
Sri-Gupta.
If Smith’s view proves to be true, it will follow that Candra-
gupta I transferred his capital from Bengal to Magadha, where his
successors ruled for a long time.
D. C. Ganguly
i 6 Gupta Coins.
ij Early History of India , Second cd., p. 265.
18 Gupta Coins, Intro, p. xix.
The Dutch in Bengal after Bedara
Dependence of the Dutch on the English
The defeat of the Dutch at Bedara in November, 1759, dealt
a crushing blow to their hopes “to rival the political power of the
English in Bengal;” 1 and henceforth their existence in Bengal be-
came entirely dependent on the goodwill of their rival, the English.
The Nawab of Bengal began to look on them as “an unloved guest,”
whose departure, rather than existence, he now desired most. The
Dutch traveller Stavorinus, who visited Bengal during 1769-71 A.D.,
has thus described the situation cf the Dutch after 1759: — “Since
the unfortunate issue of our expedition to Bengal in 1759, the re-
putation of our countrymen has been on the decline; and we are
obliged to be not a little dependent upon the English, with respect
to the piece-goods wanted for our cargoes, both fer Batavia and for
Holland. In the beginning of the government of the Director V —
(Vernet), in the year 1765, or 1766, when Lord Clive was still in
Bengal everything seemed to take a friendly aspect, and arrange-
ments respecting trade were about to be made to mutual satisfaction
and advantage. Both these gentlemen came to an agreement, that
all the aurungs, or weaving manufactories in Bengal, should be
numbered, in order that a repartition might afterwards be made for
so many aurungs to each nation for the purpose of weaving the goods
they wanted; and two Commissioners were appointed, to this end,
respectively, by the English, the Dutch and the French, to go
through the whole country and ascertain the number of manufac-
i The importance of the victory of Bedara for the English was aptly hinted
at by Clive in the following sentence : —
“Thus ended an affair which, had the event been different, threatened us in
its consequence with utter destruction; for, had the Dutch gained the same advan-
tage over us, we have now the most convincing proofs to conclude that die
remembrance of Amboyna would have been lost in their treatment of this colony.”
Malcolm, Life of Clive , vol. II, p. 89. 1
53 7
The Dutch in Bengal after Bedara
tones ✓: But these excellent arrangements were all
broken, by the departure o£ Lord Clive from Bengal; his Lordship
was succeeded by Mr. Verelst, with whom the Director V — shortly
afterwards fell out, and their disagreement was carried to such a
point, that upon paying the customary annual national visit to
Calcutta, Mr. V — was treated in a most improper and humiliating
manner; whence, in the end, so great a breach arose between these
two chiefs that the above arrangements were, much to our prejudice,
entirely set aside. The English had equally, on their sides, much
reason to be discontented with Mr. V — as he had used his utmost
endeavours to favour the French in all things, notwithstanding they
(the French) had no power to render our Company any service or
even to help themselves, and the English* were much hurt at this
conduct, especially at Mr. V — s selling all the Japan copper, which
the Dutch ships brought to Bengal, to the French, without allow-
ing them the opportunity of purchasing a single pound, for a con-
siderable time although they offered a higher price than was obtain.-
cd from the French. This was evidently not only unfriendly but
wholly incompatible with the interests of the Company; which
appears the more strongly if we consider that, upon the least
difference with the Moors, the Council at Hugh were obliged to
have recourse to the mediation and protection of the government
at Calcutta, as was the case, two or three times, while I was in
Bengal .” 2 The Dutch commerce in Bengal, formerly ‘‘very
profitable, now ceased to be so.’ ‘
Relations between the Dutch and the Nawab of Bengal
The relations between the Dutch and the Nawab’s government
did not also turn out to be cordial. The Dutch had annexed the
village of Partabpur near Hugh to their territory, and Mirza Kazim,
2 Stavorinus, Voyage to the East Indies, vol. I, pp. 499-501.
3 Ibid., pp. 324-25.
I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER. 1938
*5
538 ' The Dutch in Bengal after Bedara
formerly naib of* the faujdar of Hugli, and an inhabitant of that
village, had connived at this encroachment of the Dutch for the
sake of their protection. Muhammad Reza Khan, naib Nazim of
the minor Nawab Saif-ud-daulah, visited Hugli in February, 1768,
argued before the Dutch Director Mr. G. L. Vernet that Partab-
pur was within the area of Hugli and was “never annexed to
Chinsurah” and “wanted him to restore it to the Nawab.” 1 We do
not know if it was actually restored or not. There were also other
faults on the part of the Dutch which excited the displeasure of the
Nawab’s government against them. The Dutch Company had to pay
certain duties to the Nawab for conveying goods up and down the
river Ganges; but these had not been paid by Mr. Veinet for several
years. The Nawab thereupon ordered the faujdar of Hugh to
exact his lawful dues in a forcible manner, and the latter accordingly
sent a chubdar to the Dutch Governor demanding the money and
threatening him that “in case it were not paid, he would not suffer
any more goods belonging to the Dutch to pass.” ' The Director
“took umbrage at this peremptory message, and after having violent-
ly abused the poor chubdar, sent him to the fiscal De Saumaise, and
had him bound to the whipping post, and unmercifully flogged.” 1 '
At this the faujdar of Hugh detained all calhcoes and other piece-
goods intended for cargoes for the Dutch ships, which were to sail
for Europe in the month of November 1768, and he also invested
Chinsurah on the land side on 3rd October 1768, with ten or twelve
soldiers.' All the “approaches and barriers were so closely guarded,
that no one could go in or out. This occasioned in the ensuing days
such a scarcity of provisions, among the inhabitants of the village
that many of them perished for want Besides this blockade
in the land side, the Moors (the Muslims) had also beset the river,
4 Calendar of Persian Correspondence , vol. II, pp. 231-32.
5 Stavorinus, op. tit., vol I, p. 115.
6 Ibid .
7 Ibtd.
539
The Dutch in Bengal after Bedara
above the village, so that nothing would be brought down the
water; and from below, there was little to be obtained, while there
was any rice, seven pounds weight were sold for a rupee, but it was
soon consumed. ” 8 * On a reference being made by Mr. Vernet,
the Dutch Council thought it useless to use force and decided to
settle the matter amicably through the mediation of the English.
A Dutch deputation consisting of Mr. Ross, the Chief Administra-
tor, and Mr. Van Braam, the Controller of Equipments, settled the
affair with the English Council in Calcutta and Muhammad Reza
Khan. On their promise that the Nawab’s duties should be quickly
paid, the Dutch goods were released, the Nawab’s soldiers left
Chinsurah on the 15th October, and the navigation of the Hugh
river was opened.' 1
Dutch actions during the administrations of Cartier and Hastings
But both the English and the Nawab’s government kept a
strict watch on the movements of the Dutch. They were required
by the Naib Nazim “not to send more than one European with a
fleet.’’ 10 Officers were appointed at Kalpi to inspect their ships as
also of the other Europeans like the French and the Danes, to
take strict account of the cannon, arms and military stores on board
their ships and to prevent them from sailing up the Kalpi with more
than 24 guns and stores in proportion and 250 men in one ship,
which were considered sufficient for a merchant ship. 11 These offi-
cers were ordered “not to use violence without just cause and
on no account to receive gratuities from anyone. ’ 12 The regula-
tions of the Nizamat were, however, scarcely obeyed by the Dutch,
the French and the Danes. 13 On the other hand, they obstructed
the business of the faujdari and oppressed the people. 14 Ini 1771 the
8 Stavorinus, op. cit., vol. I, p. 115. 9 I hid.
10 Calendar of Persian Correspondence, vol. Ill, p. 27. 11 Ibid,, p. 42.
12 Ibid. 13 Ibid., p. 138. 14 Ibid., pp. 249-50.
54 ° The Dutch in Bengal after Bedara
Director of the Dutch Company committed a murder, and the
victim’s heirs petitioned to Sayyid Muhammad Ali Khan, faujdar
of Hugh, for redress.'' 1 Mr. John Cartier, the Company’s Governor
in Calcutta, thereupon, authorised the Naib Nazim, Muhammad
Reza Khan, to write to the faujdar of Hugh, to put a stop to the
illegal actions of the Director of the Dutch Company. 1,1 Further,
disputes generally took place between the Director of the Dutch
Company at Chinsurah and the officers of the Nizamat on the
question of respective rights and privileges. Considering it desir-
able to put a stop to such disputes, Warren Hastings, who succeeded
Mr. John Cartier as the Governor of Bengal, wrote to Nawab
Mubarak-ud-daulah and his guardian Muni Begam, on the nth
May, 1773, to call upon the Director of the Dutch Company to
produce copies of firmans by virtue of which his Company claimed
privileges in Bengal. 1 ' The Nawab acted accordingly. It is not
known if the Nawab’s orders were complied with by the Dutch or
not. But the Dutch Director defied the authority of Khan Jahan
Khan, the faujdar cf Hugh, who thereupon requested the Com-
pany’s Governor to “give him definite directions for his guidance
and to ask the Nawab at Murshidabad to reprimand them and issue
a parwanah empowering him to stop their boats of grain, etc.” ,s
As desired by the English Governor, 1 " the Nawab issued a para-
wanah to the faujdar of Hugli asking him “to stick to the privileges
of his office and not to give up his authority.’ 2 "
Hostile Angl o-Dutch relations during the War of American Independence
In course of a few years, the Anglo-Dutch relations in India
turned to be hostile under the influence of extra-Indian politics.
The adhesion of Holland to the league against England during the
15 Cdendar of Persian Correspondence , vol. III. 1 6 Ibid., p. 255.
17 Ibid., vol, IV, p. 56. 18 Ibid., p. 149 and p. 168.
19 Ibid., pp, 161-62. 20 Ibid., p. 168.
The Dutch in Bengal after Bedara 54 1
War of American Independence was followed by a declaration of
war on the part of England and seizure of Dutch colonies. In pur-
suance of this policy, Lord Macartney, Governor of Madras, drove
the Dutch out of Madras and Pulicat, and in November 1781 cap-
tured the Dutch settlement of Nagapatam. 21 The Dutch forts and
factories m Bengal and Bihar were also seized by the English with-
out much difficulty, as the English, apprehending a rupture with
the Dutch for some time, had not allowed them to maintain strong
garrisons in their settlements." But after the termination of the
War of American Independence by the Peace of Versailles in 1783,
the Dutch got back most of their possessions in India, 2 ' and in the
year 1778 the Dutch settlement of Baranagar was exchanged with
the English territories contiguous to their factory at Hugh. 21
Anglo 'Dutch alliance during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
The Dutch power was badly affected in Europe during the
Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. On the conquest of Holland
by France in 1795, the Dutch possessions in India were placed under
the protection of the English for their safety against the French, 2 "
and the English issued the following proclamation 2 ": — “Whereas
armed Force acting under the pretended authority cf the persons
now exercising the Powers of Government in France, has entered
into the Territories of his Britannic Majesty’s ancient allies, their
High Mightnesses, the States General of the United Provinces,
and has forcibly taken possession of the seat of Government,
whereby the Stad-holder has been obliged to leave his own country
and to take refuge in Great Britain; We do by this Proclamation
21 E. H. Nolan, Illustrated History of the British Empire in India , II, p. 400.
22 Siyar-ul-Mutakherin (Eng. trans.), IV, pp. 118-19.
23 Consultations, 23rd Nov. 1784 (Imperial Records Dept., Foreign Branch).
24 Consultations, 12th Jany. 1789 (Imperial Records Dept., Foreign Branch).
25 Letter from G. Hay, Secretary to Government,* to Henry Douglas, Magistrate
of Patna, 14th August, 1795 (Patna District Judge Court Unpublished Records).
26 Ibid .
54 2 , The Dutch in Bengal after Bedara
issued in virtue of his Majesty’s Commands, invite and require all
Commanders and Governors of Settlements, Plantations, Colonies
and Factories in the East Indies, belonging to the said States as they
respect the sacred obligation of honour and allegiance and fidelity to
their lawful sovereigns (of their adherence to which they have at all
times given the most distinguished proofs) to deliver up the said
Settlements, Plantations, Colonies, and Factories into his Majesty’s
possession, in order that the same may be preserved by his
Majesty until a general Pacification shall have composed the
differences now subsisting in Europe, and until it shall please God
to re-establish the ancient constitution and Government of the
United Provinces, and in the meantime we do hereby promise upon
the assurance of His Majesty’s Royal Word that so long as the said
Settlements, Plantations, Colonies, and Factories shall continue to
be possessed by His Majesty, they shall be held and treated upon
the same Terms with respect to all advantages, privileges, and
Immunities to be enjoyed by the respective Inhabitants upon which
the Setdements, Plantations, Colonies and Factories in the East
Indies are held and treated which are now subject to his Majesty’s
Crown, or are otherwise possessed by the Company of Merchants
trading from England to the East Indies under His Majesty’s Royal
Charter.”
Loss cf Dutch 'possessions in India
The Dutch gradually lost all their possessions in India during
the first three decades of the iqth century. The Marquis of
Wellesley contemplated an expedition against the Dutch at Batavia,
as the Dutch were then in alliance with the French, but it could not
be carried out. 27 When Mr. Sobnlein, the Chief of the Dutch
factory at Patna, died in May, 1803, his effects were sent by Mr.
Henry Douglas, Magistrate of Patna, according to the desire of the
27* Journal of Indian History, 1932, p. 52.
543
The Dutch in Bengal after Bedara
deceased, to his executors, Messrs Bowman of Chinsurah and
Ullman of Fultah. 28 During the Governor-Generalship of Lord
Minto (1807-13), the Dutch lost Cape of Good Hope, the Spice
Islands and Amboyna. 2 ' 1 But Java and the Dutch possessions
within the jurisdiction of the Madras Government were restored to
the Dutch by Lord Hastings. 10 The territories of the Dutch in
moujah Octler Nowapore in paragana Sonhit near Balasore, from
which the Dutch agent at Balasore had been dispossessed, were also
given back to them in 1820. 31
During the Governor-Generalship of Lord Amherst, a treaty
was concluded between England and Holland with a view “to
place upon a footing mutually beneficial to their respective posses-
sions and the commerce of their subjects in the East Indies so that
the welfare and prosperity of both Nations may be promoted in all
time to come, without those differences and jealousies which have,
in former times, interrupted the Harmony which ought always to
submit between them, and being anxious that all occasions of mis-
understanding between their respective agents may be, as much as
possible, prevented.” 12 The important terms of the treaty were the
following :
Art. 8 — His Netherlands Majesty cedes to His Brittanic
Majesty all establishments on the continent of
2 8 Letters from Messrs Playdell and D. V. Kerrim to H. Douglas, dated 23rd
May and 24th June, 1803 (Patna District Judge Court Unpublished Records).
29 Thornton, History of the British Empire in India IV, pp. 181-93,
pp. 200-201.
30 Consultations, 26th October and 17th December, 1816 (Imperial Records
Department, Foreign Branch).
31 Letter from D. A. Overbeck, Resident at Chinsurah, to W. L. Melville,
Judge and Magistrate of Cuttack , dated Chinsurah, the 2nd February, 1820.
(Cuttack Unpublished Records). Copies of these records were lent to me by
Principal K. P. Mitra of Monghyr, for which I thank him sincerely.
32 Proceedings of the Right Honourable the Governor-General in Council in
the Foreign Department, under date the 14th October, 1824 (Cuttack Unpublished
Records).
544
The Dutch in Bengal after Beclara
India, and renounces all privileges and exemption
enjoyed or claimed in virtue of those establishments.
Art. 9 — The Factory of Fort Marlborough, all the English
possessions on the island of Sumatra are hereby
ceded to His Netherland Majesty; and His Brittanic
Majesty further engages that no British settlement
shall be formed on that island, nor any treaty con-
cluded by the British authority with Native Prince,
chief or state therein.
Art. 10 — Town and fort of Malacca and dependencies ceded to
Brittanic Majesty.
Art. 1 1 — His Brittanic Majesty withdraws objection to the
occupation of the Island of Billiton and dependencies
by agents of Netherland Government.
Art. 12 — His Netherland Majesty withdraws objection to
occupation of the Island of Singapore by subjects of
His Brittanic Majesty. No British establishment to
be made on the Carimon Island and Island of Baltam,
Bintang, or other islands.
Art. 13 — Delivery of all possessions on the 1st March, 1825.
Art. 14 — Inhabitants for 6 years of the date of ratification of
the Treaty may dispose of property as they like.” 1 ''
Thus by the year 1825 vanished all the possessions of the
Dutch in India,
Kalikinkar Datta
33 Ibid.; Consultations. 13th January, 3rd February, 3rd March and 19th May,
1825 (Imperial Records Department, Foreign Branch).
Nawab Muhammad Ali and the Siege of Arcot (1751)
Introductory
The contemporary historian, Robert Ormc, wrote in 1764 that
Captain Clive, on his return from Trichinopoly in the beginning of
August' 1751, proposed as the only resource left to the English, to
attack the -possessions of Chanda Sahib in the territory of Arcot,
“offering to lead the expedition himself which he doubted not would
cause a diversion on the part of the enemy’s force from Trichino-
poly.’’ Following him, other writers of eminence have given Clive
the whole of the credit for conceiving the idea of the diversion on
Arcot. Sir George Forrest repeats the same in his Life of Lord
Clive (1918) and says that Clive, on his return to Fort St. David,
made “a proposal which was an example of daring and military
sagacity’’, viz., if a swift dash should be made on Arcot, Chanda
Sahib would be bound either to lose the seat of his government or
send a large portion of his besieging force from Trichinopoly to pro-
tect it or retake it.” A study of the records of the English Presi-
dency and of other indigenous sources will, however, point to the
fact that it was Nawab Muhammad All, the son of the martyred
Nawab Anwaru’ddin Khan, who was besieged in Trichinopoly
by Chanda Sahib assisted by the French, that insisted, almost
from the very beginning of the siege operations at Trichino-
poly, on the necessity for, and the importance of, an attack on Arcot;
and the English Governor Saunders wholly approved of the plan
and supported it from the first.
Muhammad Ali on the importance of Arcot
Nawab Muhammad Ali who had taken shelter in Trichino-
poly after the assassination of Nasir Jang, in December 1750, had all
along been urging on the 'English the necessity of their promptly
I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1938 16
546 Nawab Muhammad Ali and the Siege of Arcot ( *75 / )
sending reinforcements to him. He assured Governor Saunders, in
his letter to Fort St. David (received 2 / 13th March 1751), that Mir
Asad of Chetpat, Mutabir Khan of Ranjangudi, Hirasat Khan and
Murtaza Ali Khan of Vellore were all his friends and his troops
could take shelter in their forts whenever they might be sent to
take possession of the Carnatic country. 1 Muhammad Ali thus
gave out his plans: “I do therefore give it as my opinion that it is
highly necessary to strengthen the affairs of Trichinopoly Fort, re-
take Madura (from Alam Khan, an adherent of Chanda Sahib who
had to come to be in possession of it in the beginning of 1751) and
settle Tinnevelly, but at the same time we ought to be mindful of
the affairs at Arcot, and use our endeavours to weaken the enemy,
for if we proceed to Arcot before we retake Madura, Alam Khan
will grow powerful. On the other side, if we neglect Chanda Sahib
on account of Madura, it will prejudice our affairs. We must there-
fore be mindful of both these affairs and to that end I think it re-
quisite to send a part of my army with a detachment of your troops
to Madura and the other part of the army shall be commanded
by my brother Abdul Vahab Khan who in conjunction with your
troops are abroad upon the expedition to Arcot.’’ 2
Writing a few days later, the Nawab was sanguine that Madura
could be easily retaken and it should be secured “before we think
of settling the affairs of Arcot.” Governor Saunders appreciated
the wisdom of the plan of the Nawab; but he deprecated the sloth of
his movements. He thus wrote to Muhammad Ali on the 30th
April/iith May 1757: — “Am doubtful whether you have come to
a final resolution. Our troops have been abroad above a month, when
1 No. 29 of Country Correspondence, Public Department: Records of Fort
St. George. (1751).
2 Letter No. 59 of Muhammad Ali to Fort St. David received 20th April
1751 — For Cope’s failure before Madura see Orme, vol. 1 , pp. 169-170: and Orme
Mss. O. V'. (India Office): Hill’s Catalogue. — O. V. 14; 21.
Nawab Muhammad Ali and the Siege of Arcot ( / 75 1 ) 547
they first went out. Chanda Sahib had gained no advantage and it was
thought your joining us would entirely frustrate his designs. On
receipt of your letter, I wrote to the Deputy Governor of Madras
to send a detachment to Vellore, but the affair was finished. It is
my opinion that if you don’t attack Chanda Sahib in this province,
he will attack you; if his forces come into your country they will
plunder and ruin it, but if yours enter his, it will be the contrary.
The friendship and regard I have for you induce me plainly to tell
you what I think.”
Muhammad Ali was apprehensive of Chanda Sahib’s march on
Trichinopoly and was chagrined when Cope had to send away a
detachment to Fort St. David under definite instructions from
Saunders. He could only repeat his firm conviction that ‘‘if this
(Trichinopoly) is preserved, we shall be enabled to retake Arcot.”
Muhammad Ali repeats the urgency of a diversion on
the Arcot country
But the nearer Chanda Sahib approached Trichinopoly, the
more frightened Muhammad Ali came to be, for his own safety.
The latter was prepared to deliver up the districts of Trichinopoly,
Madura, and Tinnevelly to the English, provided they allowed him
2 lakhs of Madras pagodas every year for his expenses; as an alter-
native, he desired the English to negotiate with the French and
conclude a peace between him and Chanda Sahib so that “each of
us may remain in peaceable possession of his respective country, that
is, I in Trichinopoly and its dependencies, and Chanda in Arcot.”' 1
At the end of the letter containing the above alternatives, Muham-
mad Ali wrote in his own hand thus: — “Please raise as great a
disturbance as possible in Conjeevaram etc. countries.” Muhammad
Ali was already getting to be suspicious of the English and could
3 The Nawab’s letter to Governor Saunders received on the 29th July/ 9th
August/1751 (No. 103 — Country Correspondence, Public Department 1751).
548 Nawab Muhammad Ali and the Siege of Arcot ( )
be easily persuaded into believing that they were ready to abandon
him. So when Governor Saunders wrote to Chanda Sahib taxing
him with having unjustly seized the Trichinopoly country, advan-
tage was taken of his sealed letter to prepare an inner slip as though
addressed by Saunders to Chanda Sahib offering to deliver
up to the latter the Fort of Trichinopoly and the person of Muham-
mad Ali on certain conditions. 1 A letter of Muhammad Ali to
Governor Saunders received on the 15/26 August, discloses how he
did not feel very secure in the possession of English friendship; he
thus began his letter: — “I have had the pleasure to receive a letter
from you wherein you are pleased to intimate that affairs in this
World are not always upon the same footing so that I should by the
help of God continue to be mindful of my own affairs I do not
doubt but you will be mindful of the friendship between us accord-
ing as you have wrote to me.”
Nawab Muhammad Ali had, for some months past, been
stressing on the value of a diversion in the country of Arcot. He
had all along been holding that if troops had been despatched from
Madras, they could have taken possessoin of several places in the
Arcot country and the enemy might have been obliged to desist
marching on Trichinopoly.” At first Governor Saunders and his
4 Dodwell remarks that this was ‘ a device characteristic of Dupleix, no matter
whether proposed by him or not. v For the reply of Chanda Sahib to Saunders
see No. 109, Country Correspondence, 1751, Public Department; letter received on
20/31 August.
5 Vide para 4 of the Nawab ’s letter received at Madras on the 26th May /
6th June. (No. 74 of Country Correspondence 1751). Again in his letter to
Saunders received on the 27th June/8th July 1751, the Nawab reiterated his advice
in the following words: — “Be pleased also to send a proper assistance and a supply
of warlike necessaries. Sometime ago I desired you by several letters to send a
small force from Madras to assist my amaldars to take possession of the several
districts lying that way; if this had been done, the enemy might have been
deprived of the revenues of the country which in all likelihood would have obliged
them to decline their march this way and then our troops would have fought them
to their entire defeat in that country.”
Nawab Muhammad Ali and the Siege of Arcot ( 1 j i ) 549
Council thought that this might be effected by Captain Gingens
leaving sufficient number of men in Trichinopoly and marching
with a detachment into the Arcot country.
Rightly therefore does the contemporary annalist of the Carna-
tic, Burhanu’d-din, in his Tuzuk-i-Walajahi, write thus: — “When
weakness overtook the beseiged at Natharnagar; (Trichinopoly) on
account of the protraction of the seige and the stubbornness of the
enemy, Hazarat Aala (Muhammad Ali) devised to divide the at-
tention of the enemy and thus to remove the weariness of his own
men and to clear the roads for the coming in of provisions. Accord-
ingly Hazarat Aala despatched Muhammad Madinah Ali Khan
and Mr. Clive, the Sirdar of the English army, with sepoys who
bore hatred to the enemy to subdue the town and the fort of Arcot
and thus to exhibit their courage.”
Governor Saunders appreciates the Nawab’ s idea
Governor Saunders now began to appreciate the value of the
Nawab’s proposal. At first he was very hesitating. He wrote to
the Nawab on the 23rd August thus: — “As I judge a diversion in
the Arcot country may be serviceable to your affairs, I have sent a
party of men with good officers to Madras to be reinforced with
more; these are to raise money for you whatever is got is entirely
for you; but in case of hostilities the plunder is to be half yours;
the other half to the officers and men, as soldiers who venture their
lives ought to be rewarded.” The Nawab responded to this letter
by writing to his Diwan, Sampat Rai, who was at Madras to send
Wali Muhammad Khan or some other officer along with the
English troops and also to write to Bommarazu and other poligars
6 From the manuscript translation by Mr. Muhammad Husain Nainar,
Senior Lecturer in the Islamic section, Oriental Research Institute, University of
Madras. This translation (in process of publication by the Madras University)
has been annotated by the writer with historical notes.
550 Nawab Muhammad Alt and the Siege of Arcot ( 1 JS 1 )
%
for help. He then envisaged the consequental happenings in the
following words: — “As soon as our troops have begun incursions in
the Arcot country it will hinder the enemy from receiving the reve-
nues which will weaken them greatly and they cannot divide their
troops in case they march with their whole army towards Arcot, my
troops shall pursue them jointly with yours and those of Mysore and
Tanjore If it happens that the enemy retreat and our troops
pursue them, I shall then be able to collect money from different
parts which will be a means to gain our ends. You will in no way
neglect to disturb the Arcot country and take possession of the
several districts. This may probably withdraw the enemy’s troops
from this (Trichinopoly) country.” Muhammad Ali urged thus in
a subsequent letter, in reply to Governor Saunders, 7 after Arcot had
been actually taken from the enemy and before its full significance
had been grasped by the English, and when Clive actually proposed
to abandon Arcot and to strengthen himself in Timiri: — “It is
highly necessary for us to take care of this place; it has pleased you
to fortify the fort at Vriddhachalam. I cannot omit writing to you
that Arcot is the metropolis of the Carnatic country so that the
Fort will be of better use to us than Vriddhachalam; I must repeat
you will take care to make it strong by demolishing all the buildings
which may be destructive to it By the blessing of God the
present success will procure you a great name in the Deccan and
Hindustan countries and also in Europe Please to take diver-
sions in the several districts round your place.”
7 Saunders felt that though the English and the Nawab’s forces might be
strong enough to keep Arcot, they would never be able to collect the revenues
from the poligars, without some of the Trichinopoly troops joining them. The
enemy was strong in cavalry while they had none and therefore when they were
beaten, they could not be pursued. He added “It is thought this will not divert
Chanda Sahib from his enterprise on Trichinopoly, there is no time to lose, exert
yourself, engage Chanda, if possible and send some horse to Arcot.” (Letter No.
193, Country Correspondence of 1751-)
Nawab Muhammad Ah and the Siege of Arcot ( 175 1 ) 551
The immediate effect of the capture of Arcot
Actually the English capture of Arcot 8 9 did not make any great
impression on the country, nor did it much disturb the minds of the
Pondicherry people. News of the English march to Arcot did not
reach Dupleix for a week; and Polur Muhammad Ali Khan, a
brother of Chanda Sahib who was the Killedar at Arcot and eva-
cuated it after a little or no resistance, was promised reinforcements
from Pondicherry where the crafty Madame Dupleix gave out as
her advice that it would not be advisable to recall Chanda Sahib s
troops or the French troops from before Trichinopoly.'’ The two
sons of Bangaru Yachama Nayak of Venkatagiri, whose vakils were
at Pondicherry, soliciting Dupleix’s favour, were written to imme-
diately to send troops for the help of Polur Muhammad Ali Khan.
It was, however, Dupleix that realised the seriousness of the event;
he became greatly put out and urgently wrote to Chanda Sahib who
had already despatched 1,000 horsemen, to write to his son
Raza Sahib to march at once to Arcot with another body of 1,000
horse; and that Chanda Sahib himself should immediately cross the
Cauvery and deliver an assault on the Tichinopoly fort.
Nawab Muhammad Ali rightly cautioned Governor Saunders
to urge Clive and Muhammad Hamid to fortify Arcot and endea-
8 Governor Saunders wrote to Muhammad Ali on August 15/26, that he had
resolved to leave only three or four hundred men at Trichinopoly and make a
diversion on the Arcot country with the rest, and join the Nawab \s forces and raise
contributions, consistently with the Nawab ’s desire. Subsequently he wrote to
Nawab (30th September/ 1 ith October) that he had actaully ordered a diversion
into the Arcot country in order to draw off the enemy from Trichinopoly. Clive
embarked with 130 men from Fort St. David for Madras on August 22 /September
2. He got a reinforcement of 80 men at Madras and proceeded to Arcot on
August 26/September 6, with a body of 200 Europeans ai^d 300 sepoys and 8
officers and 8 field pieces. Passing on through Conjeevaram the force reached the
neighbourhood of Arcot on August 31st /September n, and they took possession
of the Fort next day, hoisting both the English colours and Muhammad Ali’s flag.
9 As reported by the Pondicherry Diarist, Ananda Ranga Pillai (vol. VIII).
552 Nawab Muhammad Ali and the Siege of Arcot ( 1751)
vour to get in provisions and also to send reinforcements to Arcot
from Madras and Fort St. David. The English troops and the
Nawab’s troops were very deficient in cavalry; their sallies could
not be long; and Clive’s assault on Timiri was unsuccessful
(17th September). A week later, the reinforced enemy took up a
stand within 3 miles of Arcot; and then Clive could only make a
feeble attack upon him. The latter seized the big pagoda of Con-
jeevaram; and Clive had to use great skill in conveying safely the
two eighteen-pounders that were sent to him from Madras. Raza
Sahib finally began the famous siege of Arcot which lasted from the
4th October to the 25th November. Even when the siege was raised
after the failure of a final attack, Governor Saunders did not seem
to have valued much the undisturbed possession of Arcot and the
neighbouring forts of Timiri and Kaveripak, as in his opinion “it will
only weaken our small force greatly to leave men in them.’’
Thus it will be seen that the credit for the initiative of the idea
of diversion made on Arcot should go in a very large measure to
Nawab Muhammad All whose repeated requests opened Governor
Saunders’ eyes to the possibilities of success attendant on the plan,
while Clive eagerly took advantage of the opportunity offered by
it and persuaded Saunders that he could do it, when Captain
Gingens doubted his own capacity for the task.
C. S. Srinivasachaiu
Trailokyamohana
A rare image of Visnu with 16 hands
(according tc Rupamandana)
1 HQ September, 7938.
<4
w
A woman with a child (in black granite)
(from Kotyarka , Vijapur Taluka, Baroda
T errttones )
1 HQ., September , /93S.
Gujarati or the Western School of Mediaeval
Indian Sculpture
The Western School of Mediaeval Sculpture
The Western School of Indian Sculpture flourished in three
ramifications : of which one lies to the west of a line which begins
at the latitude of Delhi and may be drawn through Ajmer south-
ward to the river Tapti. Some of the best-known monuments lie
in Gujarat, and so the westernmost branch of Mediaeval Indian
Sculpture should better be styled as “Gujarati .” 1
Nomenclature ’‘Gujarati.”
The nomenclature of the Mediaeval Sculpture and Architecture
presents considerable difficulty. In any case, a sectarian classification
(such as that forms the mam defect of Fergusson’s work), is quite
misleading. For just as in the case of Sculpture and Painting,
there are no Buddhistic, Jaina or Brahmamcal “styles” of architec-
ture, sculpture and painting; but only Buddhist, Jama and Brahma-
nical buildings, paintings and images, in the Indian style of their
period.
The Indian painting, architecture and sculpture is one : but
there are provincial variations in its formal development, existing
side by side with the secular variation in pure style. Hence, in
respect of these, the only adequate classification is geographical.
“Gujarati” is therefore the apt name for the Western Indian School.
Gujarat, an 'art-province
Gujarat — the mediaeval Gujarat of the days of the Solankis and
Vaghelas — in her palmiest days, say from the ioth century to the
i Cf. Indian Sculpture (Heritage of India Series, Calcutta 1933) by Dr. Stella
Kramrisch, p. 105.
SEPTEMBER, 1938 1 7
554 The Western School of Mediaeval Indian Sculpture
end of the 13th, had evolved a provincial school of sculpture, the
existence of peculiar specimens of which have been recorded in the
dhyanas (descriptions) of the images by Sutradhara Mandana ( circa
1450 A.D.) in his three compendiums on the subject: the 2 Rupa-
Mandana, the Rupavatara and the Devata-Murti-prakarana.
Gujarat enjoyed political tranquility in the reign of the Solanki
kings — in the time of Mularaja, Bhimadeva, Siddharaja, Kumara-
pala and some others of the Vaghela branch, though occasionally it
was disturbed by the inroads of Moslem iconoclasts. And this
was the time when art, literature, etc., could flourish in Gujarat.
Gujarat deserves, therefore, to be considered as an art-province,
with a dialect of its own, although it is related to that of the con-
temporary currents in the other two branches of the Western school
of sculpture. It can be said that mediaeval craftsmen from Gujarat
to Orissa share common traditions.
Contemporary Mediaeval Art in India.
The best period of mediaeval art in India, ranged from the 9th
century onwards to the 13th century, before the general conquest
of the various provinces by the Mahomedans, when the Hindu artis-
tic talent got a set-back and soon degenerated into a decadent art.
This is the period when the Pala and Sena schools of art flourished
in Bengal, and reached its zenith. The Utkal and the Kalihga art
flourished in Orissa, as manifest in the temples at Puri, Konarka
and Bhuvanesvara.
Indian architecture and sculpture, in a way, illustrate the back-
ground of philosophy and religion, that are still blended together
in this country. Sculpture and pictorial representations of our differ-
ent gods and goddesses are significant inasmuch as that a kind of
symbolism meant for meditation attaches to them. This gives a
peculiar importance to the different texts on Silpa.
2 Published as No. XII in the Calcutta Sanskrit Series, (1936).
The Western School of Mediaeval Indian Sculpture 555
In the Indian idea, the artist, the Silpin, is not a peculiar in-
dividual with special gift of experience, but simply a tradesman
meeting a general demand. His vocation is hereditary, and he re-
ceives his education in the workshop. His genius is not an indi-
vidual achievement, but it manifests the quality of the society at any
given period in the work of a single school. Therefore practically the
same grade of vitality appears everywhere, and the workmanship of
individual is only to be distinguished in the Hindu and the Jaina
temples of Gujarat and in the style of miniature-painting in Jaina
and non-Jaina MSS. of the Gujarati school which bear out this
truth.
Si Ipasastras
These Silpa-sastras, as far as they are known hitherto, deal either
with image-making with regard to iconography and iconometry,
or else with the theory and practice of painting, but not with the
theory and but little with the technique of sculpture as a plasfic
art. The artist in India is not the master of his own theme, nor
does he choose his own problems. For him they are laid down in the
Sastras or canonical prescriptions, which lay down instructions to
make such and such images in such and such a fashion.
Abnormal forms
At times changes in the prescribed abnormal forms of images
are done at the instance of a certain class of donors, who do not like
such grotesque forms with a large number of heads; and accordingly
by reducing the number of faces make the image as natural as pos-
sible. Moreover, much depends on the stone they work upon. If
the stone is weak at certain spots, the sculptor fashioned it according
to convenience, and thus either reduced the number of heads or
changed the order of symbols — and these naturally constituted the
iconographic peculiarities of these images.
The Western School of Mediaeval Indian Sculpture
Harmonising the abnormal
Sometimes the texts prescribed abnormal descriptions of
images; but, here the individual talent of the Silpin is found to
come to his help. In the creation of abnormal types (in case of
image having more than one head or more than two hands or
having non-human form) the idea is new and the conception bold.
Here the clever artist is found able to harmonise the seemingly
impossible theme into a graceful work of art. Several artistic
examples of the important deities in the Brahmanical pantheon —
Visnu, Ganesa, Sakti, etc. are found in Gujarati sculpture.
Artistic peculiarities
The artistic peculiarities of Gujarati sculptures bear a close
resemblance to the specimens hailing from Bengal in the Pala and
Sena periods. The delicate ornamentation, artistic expression, bold-
ness of outline, definiteness of detail and the pleasing effect pro-
duced on the minds of every onlooker make the images of the
mediaeval period the product of the best days of Hindu art, parti-
cularly in Gujarat. The execution of these images seems to be
perfect, but gaudy and much detailed. Tfie figures are beautifully
and yet delicately ornamented, the expression is natural, serene and
peaceful. The frame of the body, the garments, the various
ornaments and the symbols are found depicted faithfully, accord-
ing to the dhyanas in the texts.
Characteristics of the Gujarat branch
In the Gujarati branch of Western Indian Sculpture, a strained
motion (instead of the easy and swaying state of poise in which
classical reliefs had dwelt) in its nervy elegance, overstresses the
curves, so that they have a tendency to become angular, not far
remote from that of the Gujarati paintings of the same age J Such
3 Cf. Indian Sculpture, Plate L, fig. 114.
The Western School of Mediaeval Indian Sculpture 557
vestiges as there are of modelling in this region arc laid flattened
and angular, with an acute and fantastic outline.
A beautiful variation of the Aryavarta or Indo- Aryan style,
found in Rajputana and Gujarat is characterised by a free use of
columns, carved with all imaginable richness, strut brackets and
exquisite marble ceilings with casped pendants.
By an unfortunate error Fergusson described this Western or
Gujarati style as the “Jama Style.’’ In reality it has no concern
with any special kind of religion, and is Jaina merely because
Jamas were numerous and wealthy in Western India in the late
mediaeval period as they are still. When power passed into
Muslim hands the so-called Jaina style, i.e., to say the local style
was applied with the necessary modifications to the needs of
Mahomedan worship. We need hardly mention the two temples
at Mount Abu as being unsurpassed models of this wonderful
style.
Sutradhara Mandana
Both Mandana and his father Sri Ksetra were under the patron-
age of Maharana Kumbhakarna, the celebrated king of Mewar
(Medapata), and an outstanding personality of the middle of the
15th century (reigned 1419-1469 A.D.). Rana Kumbha was a distin-
guished hero, a man of letters and a noted builder of monuments.
His Kumbha-meru-prasada at Chitor is well known. It, therefore,
stands to reason that Maharana Kumbha should be a patron of
architects and sculptors, just like king Bhoja of Dhara to whom goes
the credit of the compilation of Samarahgana Sutradhara (G. O.
Series, vol. XXV.), a work on mediaeval architecture, and like king
Somesvaradeva who compiled his Manasollasa , an encyclopaedia
on useful topics (G. O. Series, Vol. 28).
Thus it is evident that Mandana’ s handbooks on architecture
and sculpture enjoyed considerable popularity with artists and crafts-
The Western School of Mediaeval Indian Sculpture
men. The Oriental Institute collection of MSS. at Baroda alone in-
cludes 7 MSS. of Rdpamandana and about 5 MSS. of Rdjavallabha
Mandana, some of these embellished with running translations in
Gujarati prose, some centuries old. Mandana seems to have been a
prolific writer of treatises on architecture and sculpture. The follow-
ing is a list of works ascribed to him, the titles ending with his name,
viz., Vastu-mandana , Prasada-mandana, Rajavallabha-mandana,
Rdpamandana, etc.
Mandana’s works seem to have enjoyed wide popularity
throughout the length and breadth of India. In the unique library
of Kavindracarya,' a Deccam Brahmin, and a very learned man, the
head of the Pandit community of Benares of his time (17th century)
who ultimately took Sannyasa, copies of Mandana’s works were
deposited. Thus within two centuries after compilation, we find
copies of Mandana’s texts, deposited in Benares, the great centre of
Indian culture. From Benares Mandana’s works probably spread
to other places, westwards as well as eastwards. MSS. of his works
are also met with in the South."
Variety of forms of Visnu
From the original form, developed many other forms of Visnu,
according mostly to the individual taste and conception of the
authors and sculptors or the donors of the different images. When
the worshipper thought that with four arms his god does not become
powerful enough, he increased the number of hands from
two to four, six, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen, sixteen, twenty, or
more. When, again, the sculptor thought that his god
with, one face was not able to display all his might or illustrate
the mythology connected with the god, he went on adding faces
4 G. O. Series No. 17 (1921) ‘Kavindracarya Grantha Suci.’
5 Vide T. A. Gopinath Rao’s Elements of Hindu Iconography.
The Western School of Mediaeval Indian Sculpture 559
one after another till he was satisfied. Sometimes new forms are
described in the dhyanas or executed in actual sculptures and then
the authors on Silpa enjoined the execution of such images in that
fashion.
Visnu being one of the chief deities of the Hindu Pantheon,
is very frequently represented in sculpture. He is conceived in
various forms, and the sculptures of all these forms are found in
temples in North and South India. Usually Visnu’s symbols are
the Conch and the Disc; but when four-armed he carries in addition
the Lotus and the Mace. The conch-shell is symbolical of eternal
space, the wheel of eternal time, the mace of eternal law and the
unfailing punishment consequent on its breach, and the lotus
symbolizes the ever-renewing creation and its beauty and freshness.
By way of illustration as to the uniqueness of iconographical
materials in Gujarat we mention the iconographic characteristics of
certain Visnu and Sakti images found alone in Gujarat, and no-
where else. These are described in the Rupamandana and not in
any other Silpa work. Images like those of Acyuta (four-armed, with
its 24 varieties due to the permutation and combination of the four
symbols held in the four arms), of Vaikuntha (one-faced, eight-
armed and seated on Garuda) and of Visvarupa (four-faced, twenty-
armed, and mounted on Garuda) are thus unique and rare in the
history of Indian sculpture.
«
Their variations from Rupamandana
Sometimes, however, images are met with in Gujarat, which
are in the main in accord with the descriptions in the Rupamandana,
but differ in certain details from the same. And it is very pro-
bable that the sculptures of the mediaeval period had kindred texts to
guide their artists, which canons were, however, modified or changed
by the time of Mandana.
560 The Western School of Mediaeval Indian Sculpture
Mandana’s compilations on sculpture are more interesting in
that they contain descriptions of certain rare and abnormal images
of Visnu and varieties of Gauri, which are found nowhere else in
India. *It is for the same reason that T. A. Gopinath Rao has drawn
upon the text of Rupamandana in his Elements of Hindu Icono-
graphy (1916, q vols.) for description of rare and unique images.
However, he has not been able to support the text from Rupa-
mandana with adequate photographs of actual images. Dr. B.
Bhattacharya’s paper on ‘Eight mediaeval images in the collection
of Prince Pratap Sinh’° although based on a study of actual images,
could not be illustrated.
Discovery of rare Visnu images
I have, however, been able to take photographs of some of the
rare Visnu images, mentioned in the Rupamandana during my
research tours in North Gujarat, at the instance of the Bombay
University, (see Illustrations).
Section in Rupamandana on Jaina Iconography
The other noteworthy feature of the Rupamandana is that
different forms of Hindu and Jaina images have been described along
with Ayatanas or the companion deities or the attendant Yaksa
and Yaksinis, as the case may be. This is explained by the fact
that the rich Jaina community in Western India was very influen-
tial at the court of Rajput kings. The warlike Jaina ministers and
merchants were also great patronisers of art. They were great
builders. Hence the section on Jaina iconography in Mandana’s
work is highly justified, as it was principally designed to guide the
artists and craftsmen of Rajputana and Gujarat.
6 Indian Culture , vol. I, no. 3.
Soma (Moon)
( from the Surya-Kunda at Madbera , nth century)
1 HQ September , /93S.
The Western School of Mediaeval Indian Sculpture 561
Gujarat is a rich mine of fine sculptural remains; in spite of this
fact nobody has attempted a detailed and intensive study of such artis-
tic specimens of the mediaeval period. Whenever the detailed series
of sculptures from Gujarat shall be reproduced, it will be invaluable
as a key to Brahmanical and Jaina iconography. It is also likely
that such a study would contribute to the history of art, in its
aesthetic aspect as well.
M. R. Majmudar
18
SEPTEMBER, 1938
Kulatattvarnava— a spurious work ?
This work has been published by the Midnapore Pradesika
Brahmana Sabha. The single Ms. is said to have been taken from
Vikrampura to a Navadvipa tola from where it travelled to
Midnapore. The authorship has been attributed to Sarvananda,
son of Dhruvananda of Mahavamsa fame. The following reasons
make us question its genuineness.
(a) No book of this name and of this author was known be-
fore. This is no doubt an argument ex silentio. But in case of
the Kulasastras this argument has some weight. Very few Kula-
panjikas have been published or read by few. But many have
heard the names of the important works. They are generally
transmitted from generation to generation. Before the publi-
cation of Dhruvananda’s Mahavamsa, it was known that there was a
work of this name and author. The works of Harimisra and
Edumisra have not yet been found. But they exist in quotation of
later authors. It is rather strange that so important a work as
Kulatattarnava by the son of a celebrated ghataka was never heard of
before.
(b) Every important event in this work is dated. We have
got dates for the introduction of Kulinism by Vallalasena,
Danujamadhava’s Srotriya divisions, for Dattakhasa’s reforms and
for Devlvara’s mela-bandhana. The curious fact is that all these
dates tally with the results of the recent historical researches. So
far as we know, no Sanskrit work gives so many correct dates, not
even the Rajatarahgini (all of the dates in it have not proved to be
accurate). If the Kulatattvarnava proves to be a genuine work,
it must be regarded as a unique work, so far as its dates are
concerned.
Kulatattvarnava — a spurious work? 563
(c) Dattakhasa’s reforms are narrated in the book, against
which a section of the Srotriyas revolted. They refused to accept
his decisions and left Bengal and settled in Midnapore and became
known as Madhyasreni — a section of the Brahmanas found only
in that district (slokas 380-396). It may be that Dattakhasa
was an amatya of Raja Ganesa during whose rule there was a Hindu
revival. It is now held by competent scholars 1 on numismatic
grounds that Raja Ganesa had the viruda Danujamardana. But
m the Kulatattvarnava his viruda is Kamsanarayana. Kamsanar-
yana of the Varendra Kulapanjikas flourished in the latter half of
the sixteenth century 2 while Ganesa ruled in the beginning of the
fifteenth. The real cause of this confusion in this book is, it is
to be suspected, due to Mr. N. N. Vasu’s article in the Sahitya
Parisat Patrika, (vol. IV, p. 146). Those who are responsible for
this part of the Kulatattvarnava will do well now to revise it, be-
cause Mr. Vasu has changed his opinion. Raja Ganesa and
Kamsanarayana are two different persons and flounshed in two
different centuries. The revolt of a section of the Radhiya
Srotriyas against Dattakhasa’ s reforms and the rise of the Madhya -
sreni have been given undue importance in the book. This
revolt is not mentioned in any other book. Is it because that it
has been published from Midnapore?
The reading of the book leaves the general impression that it
is a recent compilation, based on the Kdrikds of Harimisra and
Edumisra and Dhruvananda’s Mahavamsa, as published in the
V anger Jdtiya Itihdsa, vol. I. Modern researches about the chro-
nology of the royal dynasties of Bengal have been utilised.
Pramode Lal Paul
1 Dr. N. K. Bhattasali, Coins and Chronology of the Sultans of Bengal, Intro.
Sahitya Parisat Patrika, 1341 B.S., p. 16.
2
The Mandukya Upanisad and the Karikas of Gaudapada
The question of the relation of the Gaudapada Karikas to the
Mandiikya Upanisad has been engaging the attention of the
present writer ever since Mm. Professor Vidhushekhara Bhatta-
charya raised a discussion over it. 1
The Mandiikya is traditionally regarded as one of the ten
major upanisads, and the karikas of Gaudapada are supposed to be
explanatory verses thereon. The Mu,ktikopanisad names 108
upamsadas and holds that the Mandiikya alone is enough to liberate
a man.
There is a good deal of controversy over the extent of the
Mandiikya, which is set forth in Professor Bhattacharya’s paper
referred to above. While present-day Advaitins are unanimous
that the twelve prose passages found interspersed in Gaudapada’s
work constitute the upanisad, most Vaisnava commentators of it
since the days of Madhvacarya have, on the other hand, held the
karikas of the first book also to have been a part of the upanisad,
Purusottama, the grandson of the suddhadvaitin, Vallabhacarya,
going further and holding the entire work of Gaudapada as a part
of it. It has also been pointed out by Bhattacharya that all the
four books of the karikas have been severally held by others as
distinct upanisads, while some latter-day advaitins have accepted
the Vaisnava view. Mr. B. N. Krishnamurti Sarma has pointed
out 2 that karika I. 17 is referred to in Siita-samhita, IV. 55, as Sruti,
and he has further attempted without success to prove that both
1 ‘The Mandukya Upanisad and the Karikas of Gaudapada.’ 1 HQ., I, pp.
119-25, and 295-302.
2 ‘Some light on the Gaudapada Karikas/ ‘Further light on Gaudapada
Karikas/ and 'Still further light on Gaudapada Karikas” — in the Review of Philo-
sophy and Religion , II, pp. 35 ff.; Ill, pp, 45 ff. and IV, pp. 174 ff.
The Mandiikya Upanisad and the Karikas of Gaudapada 565
Sankara and Suresvara knew the karikas o£ BK. I to have been a part
of the upanisad. All that he has succeeded in proving is that a few
of these karikas have been mentioned as Smti in Sankaracarya
Apocrypha like the ‘Visnusahasranama’ commentary, the
‘Nrsimhapurvatapaniya’ commentary, and the ‘Vivekacudamani.’
Bhattacharya has pointed out that Sankara, in his commentary on
B.S., II. 1. 9, distinctly refers to karika I. 16 in the following
terms : — atroktam vedantarthasampradayavidbhiracaryaih. It is
also found that in his Brahmasiddhi, Sankara’s senior contempo-
rary, Mandanamisra, quotes karika, I. 11, but does not mention
it as srutii 1 Nor does Suresvara refer to karikas BK. I as such.
He refers to them as ‘agama-matram’ or ‘vedantokti, but that is
because the entire work of Gaudapada is described as the ‘Agama-
sastra’ and the first book is particularly named the ‘agamaprakarana.’
So there can be no doubt that Sankara and his contemporary
advaitins did not look upon the karikas of BK. I as part of the
Mandiikya Upanisad. If the prose passages and the karikas had
been works of the same author, there is no reason why the prose
passages should use the terms ‘vaisvanara’ and ‘turiya’; while the
karikas vary them as ‘visva’ and ‘turya’; nor should we expect in
such a case a difference of opinion as between prose passage 9 and
karika 19, BK. I. Madhva, however, anticipated these difficulties
when he said that Varuna, in the shape of frog, saw the
passages, while he introduced explanatory mantras an the shape
of the verses which had been seen by Brahma, the creator, a view
which he supports by quotations from certain Puranas which,
according to Bhattacharya, cannot be traced in the printed editions
thereof. This practically amounts to an admission that the prose
and the verse portions of BK. I are not works of the same author.
3 Brahmasiddhi', ed. by Mm. S. Kuppuswami Sastri, p. 150.
566 The Mandukya Upanisad and the Karikas of Gaudapada
Prof. Bhattacharya thinks that the twelve prose passages are
a later work than the karikas of Gaudapada, and that probably it
is a post-Sankara work, since Sankara is not found referring to them,
even where one would expect him to do so, in this recognized com-
mentaries. He is also of opinion 1 that the author of the com-
mentary on the Mandukya and karikas is not really Sankara, but
somebody else assuming that great man's name, — a view which it
should be possible to accept in spite of tradition and the opinion
of such a distinguished scholar as Mm. Prof. S. Kuppuswami
Sastri to the contrary.
One may also readily accept Bhattacharya’s view that the
karikas are by no means what they are supposed to be, namely,
a sort of vartika on the Mandukya Upanisad, since they have no
characteristic of a vartika which consists in discussing what is said,
what is not said and what is badly said ( uktanukta-durukta-cinta vdr-
tikam — Rajasekhara). The reasons set forth by Prof. Bhattacharya
need not be repeated here.
But one cannot help joining issue with this erudite scholar
when he insists that the Mandukya Upanisad that is, the twelve
prose passages, is a post-Sankara or even a post-Gaudapada work.
First, <the tradition that the Mandukya is one of the ten major
upanisads cannot be discarded without adequate reason. Secondly,
Y. Subrahmaniya Sarma has pointed out 5 that Suresvara actually
quotes from this upanisad and names it: —
*msr? 11
Thirdly, Mandanamisra, who like Suresvara, was a senior
contemporary of Sankara, quotes the Nrsimhottaratapaniya passage
ekam amrtam ajam , and the Mandukya words — sarvafnah, sarves-
4 Sir Ashutosh Silver Jubilee, vol. Ill, pt. 2, pp. 101--110.
5 Review of Philosophy and Religion, IV, p. 220.
The Mandukya Upanisad and the Karikas of Gaudapada 567
varah. B Fourthly, Sankara’s commentary on Brhadaranyaka Up.,
IV. 2. 3 and 4., leaves hardly any doubt in one’s mind that he is
referring therein to the Mandukya, though not expressly naming it.
I refrain from quoting the relevant commentary in extenso, and hope
that my readers will take the trouble of reading the commentary
at first hand. Swami Madhavananda, in the excellent translation of
Sankara’s commentary on this Up., appears to have come across refer-
ences to the Mandukya in the bhasya for he names this Up., in the
list of abbreviations, prefixed to his work, but I have unfortunately
failed to trace the references. Then, again, in view cf Suresvara’s quot-
ation of the Alandukya passage containing the expression, prabha-
vapyayau, it seems likely that Sankara, too, had this passage in
mind when he used the expression in his B.S., I. 1.9, commentary
and not Katha, II. 3. u, as Bhattacharya contends, for the ex-
pression appears to have a somewhat different import in the latter
context. Lastly, Bhattacharya has himself shown that the terms
‘Vaisvanara and ‘Turiya’ are older than ‘Visva’ and ‘Turya’ '
found in the karikas, and also that the prose passages have a tinge
of the language of the Brahrnanas. For all these reasons it would
be legitimate to hold that the Mandukya is a pre-Sankara and
pre-Gaudapada work and that it would be wrong to reject the tra-
dition that it is one of the ten major upanisads. Even Nagarjuna
might have borrowed the word ‘prapancopasama’ from it.
We shall now proceed to discuss the real problem before us,
viz., what is the relation of the karikas to the Upanisad. In agree-
ment with Bhattacharya, I have already said that the karikas of
Gaudapada are not a vartika on the Mandukya. What, then, js the
relation between the two? To come to a finding on this point,
it is necessary to examine first what it is that the karikas aim at.
Are they pure Vedanta as the orthodox commentators would have
6 Brahmasiddhi, pp. 4, 127.
568 The Mandukya Upanisad and the Karikas of Gaudapada
us believe? Most probably not. It stands to the credit of Poussin 7
and Bhattacharya 8 9 that they have been the first to tell us what the
karikas really aim at. The karikas of the first BK. establish non-
dualism of the Mandukya type, the second and the third BKs, have,
to use Poussin s words, a double entendre or, in the language of
Prof. Bhattacharya: they begin with the Vedanta and end with
Buddhism, while the karikas of the fourth BK. confine themselves
to the exposition of Mahayana Buddhism, mainly of the Vijna-
navada but partly also of the Madhyamika variety. Bhattacharya
points out how, in this book, the terminology used is entirely
Buddhistic, such upanisadic terms as ‘atman’ and ‘brahman’
being discarded, how the word ‘agrayana’ (which means ‘Mahayana,)
is used and how the author begins by saluting the Buddha and ends
by telling us what the Buddha did not teach.® Any one having
a moderate acquaintance with Yogacara and Madhyamika litera-
ture, who goes through the karikas dispassionately, will have little
doubt left in his mind that the sole object of Gaudapada in writing
this prakarana work was to show, first, what Vedantic non-dualism
really stood for and, next, to make out that Yogacara and Madhya-
mika Buddhism could be reconciled to it and placed on an upani-
sadic basis.
The question which now confronts us, and which should not
be (difficult to answer, is how the Mandukyopanisad came to have
a place at the head of the karikas. Even in the case of an upani-
sad, we know that the Nrsimhapurvatapaniya quotes almost the
7 ‘Vedanta and Buddhism,’ J.R.A.S, 1910, pp. 129-40.
8 ‘The Gaudapada Karikas on the Mandukya Upanisad/ Proceedings of the
Second Oriental Conference, pp. 410 ff.
9 According^|||poussin and Bhattacharya Karika 99, BK., IV, tells us what
the Buddha did not teach. I am inclined to think however, that the Karika tells us
what the Buddha taught; it repeats what has been said in the introductory Karika I,
viz., that ‘jneya is not different from ‘jnana’. This, however, does not affect the
conclusions arrived at in this paper.
T he Mandukya Upanisad and the Karikas of Gaudapada 569
whole of the Mandkya. Now, Gaudapada, in order to show
that his views had the support of the Sruti could do no better than
to begin his prakarana work of four Books with the quotation of the
Mandukya passages. After quoting six prose passages, Gaudapada
introduces some of his verses with the words, Atraite slokd bhavanti;
and the process continues till the entire Upanisad is exhausted. The
introductory words do not mean, in this case at least, that the verses
are older than the prose passages. Gaudapada evidently preferred
the Mandukya, to any other Upanisad because this very brief and
unambiguous work was best calculated to support his own point of
view, and he has distributed the prose passages just as they suited his
purpose.
The commentator of the Upanisad and the Karikas, whoever
he might be, was, therefore, perfectly right when he said that this
‘prakarana’ work of four Books began with the words “Om ity etad
aksaram.” But this does not certainly mean that the entire work is
Gaudapada’s in the sense that there is no such thing as a Mandukya
Upanisad, as Dr. Venkatasubbiah contends. 10 The entire work is
Gaudapada’s, but he has quoted the entire Mandukya in support of
his thesis. This seems to be the right solution of the problem
before us.
Amarnath Ray
10 See his paper in the Indian Antiquary, 1933, pp. 181-193.
SEPTEMBER, 1938
>9
Surjanacarita of Candrasekhara
(A mabakavya of the sixteenth century )
A complete ms. of this mabakavya is contained in the Govern-
ment collection of mss. deposited in the Royal Asiatic Society of
Bengal, and has been noticed by Rajendra Lala Mitra, 1 ^Theodor
Aufrecht, 2 and Hara Prasad Shastri. 3 4 5 It is written on country made
paper in Nagara character. There are 87 folios, each containing ten
lines. The appearance of the Ms. is old and its extent in slokas is
2200. The work consists of twenty sargas and contains 1446
verses.
Its contents
After a few invocatory verses, the author states that Diksita
Vasudeva was the first amongst the princes of the Cauhana-vamsa
(I, 9). He lived in the city of Vrndavati (I, 19) and his activities
were restricted mainly to the banks of the river Carmanvati (I, 18).
His son was Naradeva (I, 20); his son Sricandra (I, 21); his son
Ajayapala (I, 22). He built the fort named Ajayameru (I, 23); his
son Jayaraja (I, 24); his son Samantasimha (I, 25); his son Gurjaka
(I, 26); his son Candana (I, 27); his son Vajra (I, 29); his son Visva-
pati (I, 30); on the advice of his spiritual preceptor’s son Sunaya
(II, 13) he set out to worship the goddess who is described as
sakalartbadatri and sumbhasuraprasamani 1 in the Sakambhari
janapada.” Accompanied by Sunaya, the king arrived at the temple
1 Notices of Sanskrit Mss., Calcutta, vol. I, 1871, No. LXXVI, pp. 42-43.
2 Catalogus Catalogorum , Part I, Leipzig, 1891, p. 181.
3 Catalogue of Sanskrit Mss., Government Collection, pp. 8-9, No. 3084.
4 She is also called Astamurtehkutumbini (III, 11), Bhavani (III, 26), Giriraja-
putri (III, 37), Nagaraja-kanya (III, 36), Amba, Ambika, Gauri, Sankara-priya
Acalaputri, Sumbhadaitya-dalani, Andhaka-vairijaya, Indira, etc.
5 Also called Sakambhari-desa (III, 9).
Surjanacaritd of Candrasekhara
57 1
of the goddess and Visvapati worshipped her by undergoing many
austerities. The goddess being pleased gave him her blessings and
directed the prince to rule over that janapada which was named after
her (IV, 25). After this king Visvapati brought the whole world
under his yoke. His son was Hariraja (IV, 43), a devotee of Hari.
The Yavanapati, feeling encouraged by the death of the “son of
Vajra”, invaded the Cahamana territories by crossing the Sindhu.
But Hariraja soon defeated the Parasika army which consisted of
Hunas, Madras, Cinas and Mlecchas arid celebrated his victory by
building the Yodhapuradurga near Mandapapura at the sight of
which the Turuska lords trembled in fear (IV, 47-53)- His son
Simharaja was childless; so to save the Caubana kula-rajadhant
Vrndavati from falling into the hands of enemies he crowned his
nephew Bhimadeva (V, 30). In the course of his (Bhima’s) digvijaya,
he passed through Magadha, Gaudopakantha, Variga, Kaliriga,
Karnata, Kuntala, banks of the rivers Pampa, Goda, Tapi, Tamra^
parni and the city of Dvaravati; he defeated the Khasas, the Sakas
living on the banks of the river Sindhu, and the Kambojas, after
extending his power to the Himadribhumi and Kamarupa, he re-
turned to his capital Vrndavati (V, 41-63). His son was Vigrahadeva
(VI, 1). He defeated the Gurjaras and annexed their extensive king-
dom (VI, 3). His son was Gundadeva (VI, 15); his son was
Vallabha (VI, 16) who defeated the Cedipala and the Bhoja-bhupati
and having imprisoned the latter entered Sakambhari-pura; after some
time he sent him back to his own country with gifts and presents
(VI, 18-31). His son was Ramanatha (VI, 33); his son Camunda
(VI, 35) was a great votary of Vrsarika.. He defeated the Yavan-
anika-nayakas and threw the lord of the Sakas into prison (VI, 42).
His son was Durlabharaja (VI, 43), and the latter’s son was Dusala-
deva (VI, 44). His son was Visala (VI, 43) who defeated king,
Kama and entered Avantinagari. Several verses are devoted to a
prasasti of this city and references are made to the god Mahakala and
Siirjanacarita of Candrasekhara
572
the river Sipra (VI, 49 ff). After bathing in this river and having
worshipped Pramathanatha (VI, 63), he made the Malava prince his
tributary and returned to his own city (VI, 81). His son was Prthvi-
raja (VI, 82); his son Valhana (VI, 83); his son Analadeva (VI, 86) to
whom are devoted the whole of the 7th and the first twenty-five
verses of the 8th sarga. The poet however devotes his labours not to
record the king’s victories but to a description of the seasons and of
Puskara. On the advice of his Purodhas , the king went to this
sacred tirtha and built a magnificent temple of Hari and constructed
a garden round it. The son of this king was Jagadeva (VIII, 26) and
his son Visaladeva (VIII, 28). His son Ajayapala (VIII, 29) married
Vijaya. The poet then seems to describe the vijayayana of this
prince and incidentally gives a description of many flowering plants
and trees. In the course of his travels the king notices a beautiful girl
on the side of a tank. It was a case of love at first sight but before
the king could approach her she disappeared in the water of the lake.
The prince however meets a Siddhapurusa and is informed that she
was named Vijaya and was the daughter of the Vasuki-vamsaja Naga
Sudama. On his advice he worshipped the god Ananta and having
dived into the tank went to the Phaniloka. The poet devotes a num-
ber of verses to a fanciful description of the land of the Nagas and
then describes how the prince met its king Vasuki and the Naga
Sudama. ,The Siddha now makes his appearance and through his
intercession the king succeeds in marrying Vijaya. With the per-
mission of the lord of the Pannagas, he then returned with his queen
to his capital. In course of time he adopted the life of a Vanaprastha
after placing his son Gangadeva on the throne (IX, 73). His son
Somesvara married Karpuradevi, a daughter of the king of the Kun-
talas (X, 4). He had two sons of whom the elder was Prthviraja and
the younger Manikya. The whole of the tenth sarga is nearly devoted
to the career of the former prince (X, ioff.). While he was resting
in a pleasure garden outside the city of Vrndavati, a female messenger
Siirjanacarita of Candrasekhara
573
(dut'i) came to see him. She said that she came from Kanyakubja, the
capital of the king who was followed in war by 9,00,000 horsemen
( asvavara-navalaksa-sahkhyd ). 6 He had a beautiful daughter named
Kantivati who had fallen in love with Prthviraja on hearing his praise
from the cdranas who visited her father s court. Seeing no hope of
union with her beloved, she began to languish. Her condition be-
came desperate when she heard that her father was thinking of marry-
ing her to another prince. Prthviraja tells the messenger that the
father of Kantivati was his sworn enemy but still he would devise
some means to help her. He then visits the great city of Kanyakubja
( Kanyakubjam nagaram gartyah), ingeniously comes into touch with,
his beloved princess, and secretly entering the female quarters of the
palace of Jayacandra, the father of Kantivati, unnoticed by the guards,
( Pratihdras ) eloped with her. Though pursued by the army of the
irate Jayacandra, he succeeded in reaching Indraprastha (also called
Hanprastha) with his bride. He then attacked the pursuing Kanya-
kubja army and destroyed it in the waters of the Yamuna. We are
next told that Prthviraja conquered all the quarters and though he
defeated and imprisoned Sahavadina 21 times, he released him each
time. But the ungrateful Yavana by some means having once
defeated and imprisoned him carried him to his own country and
blinded him. While in this condition he was discovered by a
car ana, whom he had once befriended. On the advice of this
vandi, he gave up all ideas of putting an end to his life by prayopavesa
and having formed a secret plot with this minstrel succeeded in
killing Sahavadina during a tournament. The Muslim prince
was shot through his talumula by a sabdabhedi-vana. In the con-
fusion which followed, the vandi and Prthviraja both escaped on a
6 This king was named ‘Jayaccandra’ and not ‘Jayacandra’ as in the text
See Ray, Dynastic History of Northern India, vol. I, 1931, pp. 536 s.
574 Sfirjanacarita of Candrasekhara
fleet Persian horse ( vanayuja ) to the Kurujangala. The
’ Cahamana prince died in this Punyaksetra. He was succeeded by his
son Prahlada (XI, i) and he by his son Govindaraja (XI, 3). The
latter was succeeded by his son Narayana (XI, 4) and the latter by
his son Vagbhata (XI, 5) who captured Ranastambhapura by defeat-
ing the Yavanas. The latter’s son Jaitrasimha (XI, 6) built Simha-
puri and was succeeded by his powerful son Hamlradeva (also called
Hammiradeva) (XI, 7, 12 & 14). Except the first few verses of
canto XI, practically the whole of this sarga and the next one (XII)
are devoted to the career of this prince. We are told that he con-
quered the whole earth and fought with the Turuskas. He cap-
tured Ranastambhapura having expelled the Yavanas from the city
(XI, 17). The poet then gives an elaborate description of the king’s
journey to a city named Pattana accompanied by his Pattarajm,
Purohita , feudatory princes, sadasya, vayasya, saciva, cavalry and
elephants. He arrives at the banks of the river Tiladroni and bathed
in its waters. Then follow the descriptions of forests and Pariyatra-
giri and other mountains; the king saw the god Vilvesvara (Maha-
deva) and worshipped him. After some time he entered the above
mentioned Pattanakbyam nagaram whose praise was sung by the
Carmanvati. He bathed in this river and not only worshipped
Mrtyunjaya and performed the Tnladana but also a big Saptatantra
( Yajnd) . While engaged in these Alavadina finding him away from
Ranastambhapura, started with a powerful cavalry force to attack his
capital. The front portion of his army was under the command of his
dear brother Ullukhana (XI, 65). Hearing of this invasion, the Caha-
mana prince consulted Vidyabhata and other Mantrimukhyas and
began to move his cavalry and elephants in the direction of the enemy.
His Senapati attacked and routed the Yavana encampment at )agara-
pura which was under the direct charge of Ullukhana. The latter ap-
peared before the Sarvabhauma of the Sakas and told him of the disas-
ter. The lord of the Parasikas then besieged the city of the Cahuvana
Stirjanacarita of Candrasekhara ^ 575
(XI, 71). 7 In the meantime “the son of Jaitra” had also entered
his city. While the outer ramparts of the fort ( durganta ) were being
attacked by Muslim artillery (XI, 73), a messenger ( sandesahara )
came to the court of the Cahamana prince bearing a proposal from
the Sakadhipa. It amounted to this; — (i) Giving up of those who
had taken shelter with him from the fury of the Yavana prince 8 and
(11) submission and payment of tribute. Unless Hammira
accepted this sandhi, he would meet with the same fate that had over-
taken Gayasadina (XII, 21). In reply the Cahamana prince told him
that it was inconsistent with the traditions of his line either to
humbly pay tribute or to hand over those who had been granted
asylum. One of his predecessors Hariraja after defeating the Para-
sikas had built the formidable fort of Upasodhapura (XII, 27);
another, Camunda after defeating the Saka-cakravartin brought him
in chains to his capital; a third Jaitrasimha bravely defended Yogini-
pura when Gayasadina went to the land of Indra (XII, 28-29).
denied all liability for the looting of the Yavana camp at Jagarapura
and in the end proudly refused to submit, and challenged Allavadina 9
to do his worst (XII, 33-38). The Muslim duta left the Cahamana
court in high dudgeon and told Hammira that he would soon die like
a fish caught in a net (XII, 40-42). After the departure of the
messenger, the Cahamana prince accompanied by his mantrins got
up on the top of his fort and noticed the constantly increasing and
numerous forces of his enemy. Then thinking as follows: —
^Tprtimr faf^rr f? 15 ^ ^2TT 11 (XII, 49),
he took leave of the ladies of his household and his Purohita and
surrounded by his followers and those whom he had given refuge,
7 Same as Cahamana. See Ray, Dynastic History of Northern India, vol. II,
1936, p. 1052, fn. 1.
8 Mahtma-Sabimukhans Tuwska-mukbyan (XII, io & 30); also Ray ibid.,
p. 1 102. t
9 Sometimes spelt ‘Alavacllna’, see XII, 4.
I Stirjanacariia of Candrasekhara
576
issued out of the fort and engaged the Muslim forces in furious
combat. The battle rages for some time outside (XII, 75) the fort
and Hammira is killed (XII, 76-77); in the meantime, the Mahists
had burned themselves in fire.
The next canto (XIII) begins with the name of a prince called
Manikyaraja 10 who is described as the younger brother ( jaghanyaja )
of Prthviraja, the seventh predecessor from Hammira (XII, 1-2).
Manikya’s son was Candaraja (XIII, 6); his son Bhimaraja (XIII, 7);
his son Vijayaraja (XIII, 8); his son Rayana (XIII, 9); his son Kolhana
(XIII, 10); his son Vanga (XIII, 12); his son Deva (XIII, 13); his son
Samarasimha (XIII, 14); his son Narapala (XIII, 15); his son Ham-
mira (XIII, 16); his son Varasimha (XIII, 17); his son Bharamalla
(XIII, 18); his son Narmada (XIII, 19); his son Arjuna (XIII, 23); his
son Surajana (XIII, 49) 11 by his queen Jayanti, daughter of Dasaratha
(XIII, 28.). Arjuna obtained this son as a special favour from the god
Sauri (Visnu) whom he worshipped. The remaining portion of canto
XIII (verses 49-80) and sargas XIV to XIX are devoted by the poet to
the career of this king. Some 20 verses (XIII, 50-70) describe the
beauty, gifts and prowess of Surjana. He owned the city of Vrndavati
by hereditary rights and captured many other durgas. The poet then
gives us an account of his victorious campaigns ( asajaitra-yatra ) (XIII,
72ft.). By defeating the lord of Malava ( Malavanam-adhtsam ) he
captured Kotakhyam durgam (XIII, 76). He also conquered
Telanga, Kerala, Andhra, Karnata and Lata (XIII, 79). Then
follows an elaborate description of the king’s marriage with Kanaka-
vati, the daughter of Jagamala (XIV, iff.). The latter is described
as a bbubhrt (king) and lord of Vamsavahala; Jagamala-pattana is
mentioned as his capital. Surjana goes to this city and marries Kana-
10 See, canto x, 7:—^^: 2*^3# 3 jnftjqpumrgsrTtm ;
see also ibid., X, 9:- fofpni ^ JjgnfafrrRt \
11 Sometimes spelt ‘Surjana’.
Siirjanacarita of Candrasekhara
577
kavati. Many verses describe the beauty of the bride, the ceremoni-
es and the pleasures of the married pair (XIV, 6-88). With Jagamala’s
permission the Cahamana prince then arranges to start for his own
city. The mother of the bride gives her daughter advice on her duties
and responsibilities (XV, 16-33). After reaching his capital Surjana
passes some time in pleasure with his wife in a pleasure garden (XV,
34!?.). The poet describes the king’s pleasures in summer in a
dharagrha. Women dressed in dukula and kancuka and with their
lips coloured ( ayavakam dantacchadam) (XV, 70, 73)’ 2 took active
part in water sport. In course of time a son named Bhoja was born to
the king by his Pattamahisi Kanakavati (XVI, 1). The poet then
again describes Surjana’s wars and victories. Akavara is introduced and
prasied; we are told that this prince who lived in Dhillinagara and
had brought the whole world under his power, besieged the capital
of Surjana. The attempts of the Yavana generals however, did not
meet with any success. King Surjana defeated the Turuska and
Parasika hosts thirteen times. Then the Humatmaja (Akbar) himself
came to battle with the Cahamana prince (Jahgala, XVI, 1 1). In the
preliminary engagements which seem to have taken place on the
banks of a tank or lake ( sarit , hrada, tatini) Akbar’ s hosts were
defeated inspite of the personal encouragements of the Muhamma-
dan emperor. The Muslim army rallied a little towards evening,
but soon darkness descended and the armies were separated. The
valour of Surjana drew unstinted praise from the Humatmaja and
next morning before the battle began, the latter sent a saciva to the
fort of the former to open negotiations for peace. Led by the Prati-
hara of the Cahamana prince, he came to the royal presence and
eloquently pleaded for the conclusion of peace which would lead
neither to loss of glory nor material loss. The proposal of the
emperor was that he should receive from the Cahamana prince
Ranastambha-durga in exchange of territories on the banks of the
12 See Kumarasambbavam, V, n.
SEPTEMBER, 1938
20
Surjanacarita of Candrasekhara
578
sacred rivers Narmada, Yamuna (Mathura-mandala) and Jahnavi.
After so.me deliberation Surjana accepted the peace proposals of the
Saka king and started on what looks like a pilgrimage. Leaving Ranas-
tambhapura, he pitched his camp on the Narmada and after subjugat-
ing the neighbouring regions went to Madhupuri on the banks of
the Kalinda-kanya. After passing the rainy season in Vrndavana,
he started for Varanasi, halting on his way at the junction of the
Yamuna and the Ganga (i.e. Prayaga) to perform suitable religious
ceremonies. Starting from here in the month of Magha ( tapasi )
(XIX, 7) he reached Varanasi and from the Vyasa Gopala got a gra-
phic account of the excellence of the place (XIX, 9-34). The rest of
the sarga is devoted to a description of the many meritorious acts of
Surjana viz., gifts to many yacakas, Brahmanas, excavation of tanks,
tulapurusa etc. In the end he attains Sthanutvam in Kasi and
Kanakavatl and his other wives burned themselves on his funeral pyre.
The last canto opens with a note of sorrow at the death of Surjana
(XX, 17). His son Bhoja conquered Gurjararajabbiimi (XX, 9). On
the occasion of his coronation Vyasa. Gopala s son Cakradhara stood
in front of the Cahamana prince. Description of the ceremonies con-
nected with this event and his prasasti takes us practically to the end
of this sarga and the mahakavya. We are told that he was Dill-
isena-puraskrta (XX, 63) and he defeated the Suhmas, Vangas,
Vaidarbhas, Traigartas, Malavas and the Gandharas. He is still
called Vrndavati-nayaka. His death seems to be referred to in the
penultimate verse (XX, 68) of the last canto of the work.
Its author
Unlike some other historical kavyas, the Surjana-carita does not
give us any information about the author in the colophons at the
end of each sarga. The only information about the author which
we can gather from the internal evidence of this big work is in
the last verse of the last sarga (XX, 64). It runs as follows,: —
Surjanacarita of Candrasekhara
579
SITTT^' 33 T-
f^Tcnr q' ^ T RT f TRt
^sfts^r fat^nfa %r ^rtt %%%g: qn% n
Kavi Candrasekhara is described as Gaudiya and the son of Jitamitra
who was an ornament of the Ambastha family. We are further in-
formed that he composed this grant ha at the request of Nr fa Surjana
in the Pattana of the ruler of this Visva (Varanasi). Several authors
with the name Candrasekhara are known. One was the author of
the Smrtiratnakara. But he belonged to the 14th century 1-1 and
as such cannot be identified with our author. As Surjana and
Candrasekhara were apparently contemporaries of Akbar (i 53 ^"
1605 A.D.), we must try to find out an author of the 16th century.
The Caitanyacaritamrta of Krsnadasa Kaviraja refers to one
Jitamitra 11 as a disciple of Sri-Gadadhara Pandita, a contemporary
of Caitanya. The same work also refers in another place to the
Vaidya Candrasekhara. 1 1-1 We are told: —
fast S 5 *taf 11
S’spTN facast^ I
ajf ^ Cfffa II
fatal* w 11
This Candrasekhara was a Bengali Vaidya resident in Benares.
As Caitanya was born about 1498 A.D. and entered into the
Sannyasa a'srama about the end of the first quarter of the sixteenth
century, his disciple Candrasekhara was certainly a contemporary
of the emperor Akbar and the Cahamana prince Surjana. It is
thus probable that our author is identical with this disciple of
Caitanya. But as yet I am unable to produce any evidence that
13 Keith, A History of Sanskrit Literature, p. 448.
14 P. 82. Adilila, XII. 14a Ibid.
SUrjanacarita of Candrasekhara
580
this bbakta was also a poet and an author or that Jitamitra, the
disciple of Gadadhara, was the father of Candrasekhara, the disciple
of Caitanya.
A Historical Kavya
The generally accepted view that ancient and early mediaeval
Hindu authors were not familiar with the true conception of real
history must be considerably modified in the light of the following
statement of Kalhana : —
11 15
But unfortunately, with the exception of the last four
cantos of the Rajatarahgini, we have not yet discovered
many historical works written in the spirit and with
the historical detachment of the Kashmirian author. We
are however long familiar with the historical kavya A' Though
their authors could never afford to be really impartial and take a
detached view of events, yet as contemporary documents they cannot
be ignored by the student of history. The present kavya shows that
the work begun by Harisena, Bana, Padmagupta, Bilhana, Vakpati,
Sandhyakara Nandi, Hemacandra and others was continued by their
successors at least up to the 16th century A.D.. We must also
remember that with the exception of the Ramacarita of Sandhyakara
Nandi we are not familiar with any other work by a Bengali
poet which can be called a true historical kavya, though
we know a number of Bengali authors of the 15th and the 16th
centuries who composed poetical works which can be called non-
historical kavyas. The Haricarita of Caturbhuja (1493 A.D.),
Murari Gupta’s Caitanyacarita (c. 1528 A.D.), and Rupa Gosvami’s
U ddhava-sandesa and Hamsa-diita (c. early 16th century) may be
15 Rajatarahgini, I, 7.
16 Keith, of. cit., pp. 144 c£.; also Keith, Classical Sanskrit Literature, pp. 61 ff.
Siirjanacarita of Candrasekbara
581
mentioned in this connection . 17 Umapati Dhara’s Deopara Prasasti,
though scanty, may however, be included in the list of historical
kavya by a Bengali author of the first half of the 12th century
A.D . 18 '
H. C. Ray
17 I am indebted to Dr. S. Sen of the University of Calcutta and Mr. C.
Chakravarti, of the Bethune College, Calcutta for some suggestions in this paper.
18 See my Dynastic History of Northern India, vol. 1 , 1931, p. 362. Bhatta
Bhavadeva’s Prasasti is really a record of a Brahman family and as such cannot be
properly called a historical kavya, see Ibid., p. 255.
The Date of the Kaumudfmahotsava
fsrsicf w i
*t^t f^rn: n
^rat Wiapir^ 3TI I
5m * 1%5JJ5T: «P$: St^TFTT^T II
3flT5TT srmT Pra^w i
*rra% 11
ir^TPra* =* ^ streps i
fr ml f«i^' u
sqr^nm wfRprr^T w^R^rftra: i
ftRHciTwfr ?r f? 11
sra; m snfupfinrrp^ H$wnd i
aftnr^jRnsRn "
5rf^ m fgsmui«?n nf^sr i
^f5mT^T#WET m * TWTfiFft II
%^f^5mT jt siT^mTfa ff f?hni i
mxpgn ^r u
Since the late Dr. K. P. Jayaswal wrote on the ‘Historical Data
in the Drama Kaumudtmahotsava” in the ABORI. , vol. XII,
pp. 5056, the drama has attracted considerable attention. Jayaswal
(henceforth abbreviated as J.) took it as a work of the early Gupta
period and he drew from it a good deal of material for the recons-
truction of the early history of the Guptas. 1 Several scholars have
accepted the historical conclusions of J. without properly examining
whether the text of the drama really supports them or not. 2 The
highly speculative character of these deductions did not, however,
escape the critical eyes of the late Prof. Wintemitz, who said that
‘there is no justification at all for assigning this Kaumudtmahotsava
1 History of India /50 A.D. to 350 A.D. ( JBORS Vol. XIX), pp. 113-121.
2 See, e.g., E. A. Pires, The Mattkharis, pp. 25-35.
The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
5 8 3
drama to 340 A.D.’ 3 Winternitz, however, did not make a detailed
refutation of J.’s views and Mr. Dasharatha Sharma found fault
with him and supported J. 4 In view of the important character of
the historical deductions of J., the question of the date of the Kau-
mudimahotsava (henceforth abbreviated as Km.) needs be re-
examined, though from the literary point of view the drama is not
of much value.
The author’s name has not been fully preserved, not also in the
colophons of the unique manuscript on which M. Ramakrishna Kavi
and S. K. Ramanath Sastri based their editions. 5 6 The author’s name
appears in the prologue of the drama but a part of it is missing. Its
conclusion - kayd ( nibaddham ndtakam ) makes it certain that the
writer was a female whose name ended with the syllable kd. Mr.
Kavi says that he noticed traces of “a part of ja underneath the
worm-eaten portion’ *’ and a suggestion has been made that the name
of the authoress was Vijjikd J. however, ignored this and inferred
from the verse (Prologue, v. 3) that her name was Kisorika, daughter*
of Krsivala! 7 8 No Sanskritist familiar with prologues in the Abhijhd-
nasakuntala, the V enisamhdra and other Sanskrit dramas will take
this verse as conveying any sense other than that of rtu-varnana :
in autumn the young girl ( kisorika ) of the peasant ( krsivala ) is placing
sheafs of paddy on her ears. There is no reference to the authoress.*
3 Krishnaswami Aiyangar Commemoration Volume , p. 362.
4 JBORS., vol. XXII, pp. 275-282.
5 Dakshina-Bharati Sanskrit Series, No. 4, Madras, 1929.
6 Introduction, p. 3.
6a Mr. Kavi must be wrong in his view that the writqr was not a woman
(Introduction, p. 2.).
7 ABL , XII, p. 50, n. 1.
8 Cf. Winternitz, of. cit p. 361, n. 10.
5 8 4
The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
J. inferred from the undermentioned words of the Stage-
Manager in the prologue that the authoress was a contemporary of
the characters in the drama: —
■ gffo ( gffffo ? ) ^Rgnjr-
gslrfotarfa^i^r 5r»?r*rerd ^rf^f
aforifa i ( sfo? ) *r ffofa-
?fas?T l TT?: ^Rcfo =gfoPTfoF3T mt for? I gf^^fo-
jnra: fm ggwsn^grggsRTfir n
If the above be compared with the prologues in other Sanskrit
dramas, J.’s conclusion cannot be regarded as the only possible one.
In the prologue of the Uttararamacarita the Sutradhara says :
irffsfo tffep I ( gfP3TqSTfoj ) gt *Tf: l
?fT ?TR^5JW. TTflrfoTO^plH 1 ?-
fore? forreg?TWTf? i rrf? i
Here also the Stage-Manager affects to be a contemporary of
the characters in the drama. With the exception of the sentence
rnrtsfor ^> 1 4^^ TT < ' | 4 l ^l^ ?SIfT:, the Stage-Maneger’s words in
the Uttararamacarita are similar to those in the Km. In the prologue
of the Venisamhara we have the same affectation of contemporaneity
without even a qualifying sentence as in the Uttararamacarita.
As soon as the Stage-Manager has introduced the names of the
drama and its author to the audience, some one shouts from the
green-room;
*tr, r??m <ww[ i ^ pgr- sfsfor
— ' f sw<4«-gi wRfl R*n foifo^renfoBT for?: i sfor$ren for ?????:
gr?
t srf? ag ng5nre? ,) ff? i
The Stage-Manager then joyously says,
3 wsraT ?^5 t? ca ^ ?fo fgfotwr fo^T fopraig^ i s t-
fof *TRT =? CWWIH41:
m* i flfonsiforr f-sifoiri i gfoifafa qrfoifm grc wwfa
m i
The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava 585
The Assistant now enters and the two carry on conversation in
the same strain, as if they are contemporaries of the Kauravas and
the Panda vas.
In the Mrcchakatika the Stage-Manager in course of his talk
with his wife flares up and curses that his friend who has enjoined
a costly vrata on her should receive capital punishment at the hands
of king Palaka, as if they were all contemporaneous with that king.
The Manager also holds a dialogue with Carudatta’s friend,
Maitreya, “in the sky.” In the Vikramorvasiya while the Stage-
Manager is talking with his Assistant, cries of help are heard from
behind the Stage and the Manager feigns that he does not know
what they mean and then after affected reflection says that Urvasi is
being carried away by Asuras and her friends are crying for help. In
the Aiudraraksasa (as in the V enisamhara ), while the Prologue is in
progress, the character in the opening scene, Canakya (like Bhima
in the V emsamhara), takes serious exception to the words falling
from the lips of the Stage-Manager and begins his angry speech.
Similarly in the Ratndvali, Yaugandharayana, the first speaker in the
Prelude to Act I, takes up with approval from behind the stage a
verse uttered by the Stage-Manager while the Prologue is still con-
tinuing. Of the so-called Bhasa dramas each one (with the excep-
tion of the Carudatta which is only an abridged version of the
Mrcchakatika ) includes within the Prologue the first sentence of the
first speaker of the opening scene.
All this shows that our dramatists often put anachronous words
in the mouths of the Stage-Manager and his assistants. The words
.of the Stage-Manager in the Prologue of the Km., therefore, need
not necessarily make him or the authoress a contemporary of
Kalyanavarman.
We cannot thus assume that the date of the work is the same
as that of the story. If, however, the story is historical, its date will
give the uppermost limit of our 'drama. But is the story
I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1938
21
The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
586
historical? None of the characters of the drama are known
to us from inscriptions, coins or literary references. J. equates Canda-
sena, the villain of the drama, with the famous Candragupta I of the
Gupta dynasty. This Candasena was the adopted son of Sundara-
varman, king of Magadha, but he got estranged from his adoptive
father probably when, as }. plausibly supposes, a son (Kalyana-
varman) was born to him, which probably made Candasena
suspicious about the chance of his succession to the throne.
Candasena allied himself with the Licchavis, the enemies of the
house of Magadha, and attacked Pataliputra. Sundaravarman is
said to have been victorious in the battle : He spared the life of
Candasena but disinherited 8 him and banished him to the Licchavi
territory (p. 30). But Sundaravarman himself died soon after,
seemingly of wounds received in the battle, and Candasena came
back and occupied the throne of Magadha. Kalyanavarman, the
young son of Sundaravarman, had been removed to safety by his
partisans and he grew into manhood, when a coup was arranged
which installed him on the throne of his father and Candasena was
killed.
}. thinks that this Candasena is the historical Candragupta I
because both of them had connexions with the Licchavis and had
accession of territory through their help. There is no doubt that
Candragupta I married a Licchavi princess, Kumaradevi, through
whose right he and his son Samudragupta ruled over lands that did
not originally belong to them. But about Candasena we are only
told that he had connexion (sambandha) with the Licchavis —
f-RT • (p. 30). Nothing is said here about
' 9 ® the text. This rendering is suggested by MM.
Dr. Ganganatha Jha.
The Date of the Kaumudimabotsava 587
a marriage relation which J. naively assumes. 10 The context rather
suggests that it was only a political alliance.
It is difficult to understand why Candragupta I, supposed to be
the same person as Candasena, should become the adopted son of
another king, when his father, Ghatotkaca, was already a king. The
Gupta inscriptions from the time of Samudragupta and the coins of
Candragupta I and Kumaradevi suggest that Candragupta I suc-
ceeded to the dominion of the petty kings (Maharaja, which does
not necessarily mean ‘feudatory king ), Gupta and Ghatotkaca, and
became an emperor ( 'Maharajadhiraja ) when he received considerable
addition to his territory through marriage with the Licchavi princess.
Candasena’s rule, on the other hand, was only through the usurpa-
tion of Sundaravarman’s throne. If the Licchavis had kept him on
the throne of Magadha, Kalyanavarman would have had to cross
swords with them when he conquered Candasena and the Km.
must have mentioned this feat of the new king.
Theft the drama distinctly says that Candasena was killed after
the coup of Kalyanavarman:
f^aqr 1 (p. 36). The meaning of
is not very clear. But the only way in which it can be construed is
as a Bahuvrihi compound adjective to meaning along
with his issue.’ This meaning is made quite explicit by the
following verse :
i
11
So the entire family of Candasena was uprooted by Kalyanavarman.
But Candragupta I seems to have had a peaceful end and certainly
left sons, the great Samudragupta and other princes of equal birth
( tulyakulaja -) referred to in 1 . 7 of the Allahabad Pillar Inscription
of Samudragupta (Fleet, No. 1). J.’s assumption that “Candra-
10 AB1., XII, p. 53.
The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
588
gupta I who was dying either c£ wounds or o£ a broken heart on his
expulsion from Pataliputra, addressed Samudragupta, one of his
younger sons, with tears in his eyes, and with the tacit consent and
approval of his Council of Ministers, — ‘You now, my noble sir, be
the king (“protect the kingdom”)’ and expired ” 11 goes against both
the Km. and the Allahabad Inscription. The Km. shows that
Candasena, the alleged counterpart of Candragupta I, was not
expelled from Pataliputra when Kalyanavarman became the king but
was killed ( nihatah ). He could not, therefore, have the time to give
the alleged charge to one of his sons in the presence of the “Council
of Ministers.” Then, what “Council of Ministers” could sit in
deliberation or even give “tacit consent” near the death bed of a
king who had been dispossessed of his realm? Then, the tears in the
eyes of the historical Candragupta I as recorded in the genuinely his-
torical Allahabad Inscription (11. 7 - 8 ), which J. ascribes to Canda-
sena, are clearly tears of affection and not of sorrow. The words in
the inscription are:
^ RRHf ^ l
fT 5 nf*rf?gt fawr 11
“whom his father embraced, saying ‘verily, noble thou art,’ with
his hairs, indicative of affection, standing erect, while the mem-
bers of the court heaved with joy but (princes) of equal pedigree
looked on with pale features, and then scanning him with eyes
rolling with affection and laden with tears (of joy) and penetrating
into (his) true nature, said ‘Thus protect all this earth’.” We have
here very clearly the words of a prosperous king, seated in state in
his court, naming a successor and charging him to protect the earth
as he did it ( ) and not the plaintive words of a king, lying
u JBORS., XIX, p. n 9 .
The Date of the Kaumudtmahotsava
5 8 9
mortally wounded in the field of battle, who has lost his all and asks
one of the sons to regain the lost dominion. The other princes could
not have turned pale because they were not given charge of an ex-
tremely difficult and hazardous task, a life and death struggle'
against tremendous odds. Actually the inscription refers to a peace-
ful succession. J.’s interpretation of these lines makes a travesty of
the actual text. We must, therefore, conclude that the end of
Candasena’s career as given in the Km. makes his identification with
Candragupta I impossible.
Then there is the difference in name. J. finds no difficulty in
taking Canda- as the Prakrit form of Sanskrit Can dr a- 2 and Dasha-
ratha Sharma supports it . 11 Candra- of Sanskrit becomes Canda-
and not Canda- in Prakrit . 11 A preceding and not a following -r-
ordinanly cerebralizes a dental. 1 '’ It is only in Jaina Prakrit (Ardha-
naagadhi and Jaina Maharastri) that -dra- sometimes becomes -dda-K
Even in Ardhamagadhi Candra- becomes Canda- and not Canda - 17
and the form Canda- is extremely rare in Jaina Prakrit . 18
12 JBORS., XIX, p. 1 13. 13 JBORS., XXII, p. 276.
14 Dhanapala , Paialacchmamamala, v.5. The grammarians add an alternative
form Candra - without assimilation (Vararuci, III. 4, Hemacandra, II. 80, Mar-
kandeya, III. 4, Trivikrama, I. 4, 80). Canda is not vouched for by any gramma-
rian or lexicographer.
15 R. Pischel, Grammatik der Prakritsprachen, §291.
1 6 Ibid., §294.
17 Haragovinda Das Seth, Paiasaddamahannavo , pp. 393-394* Compare, e.g.,
Canda - for Sanskrit Candra - in the Aupapattka Siitra , §36 (ed. Leumann, p. 57) by
the side of Kbuddaga- for Sanskrit Ksudraka- in the same text, § 38 (p. 48). Canda
also cites only the form Canda - and not Canda- in his grammar of the Arsa Prakrit
( Prakrtalaksana , II. 1, III. 39).
18 Ibid., p. 392 a. The author has cited an illustration from Kirfel, Die Kcsmo-
graphie der Inder. The reason for Candra not becoming Canda is not far to seek:
die preceding protects the dental -d- from change. The alleged instance of
Candra - becoming Canda- in Prakrit in the Kodavali Well Inscription of Vasidii-
puta-samisiri-Cadasat (i) (JBORS., XIX, p. 1 13, n. 4) is extremely doubtful for there
the Sanskrit form of the king’s name seems to be Vasisthiputra Canda-svati and not
V, Candra-svati, (Cf. Sten Konow, ZDA 1 G., LXII, p. 591) a form favoured by the
590 The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
Dasharatha Sharma says “The Prakrta name Chandasena is
turned into Chandrasimha by Ksemendra. Somadeva, however,
gives it as Chandasena in his Sanskrit version of Brhatkatha. This
shows that the Prakrta Chanda has been always regarded as the
equivalent of not merely Chanda, but also of Chandra.” 1 ” The fact
stated here is not correct. It is true that in the Nirnay Sagar edition
of the Brhatkathamanjari of Ksemendra the name of the king, of
Tamralipta in the eighth story of the Vetala in the Sasahkavati-
lambaka twice occurs as Candra-simha (verses 420 and 430) corres-
ponding to the consistent reading Canda-sena in the Kathasaritsagara
of Somadeva, 20 but it also occurs there as Canda-sena for the
same individual within the self-same story (vv. 446, 449, pp. 323-4),
which shows that Canda-sena is the form of the name in the Brhat-
kathamanjari also and Candra-simha is only a wrong reading con-
fined to two places. Nowhere else in the Brhatkathamanjari does
Candra- in a proper name show the variant Canda- in the
Kathasaritsagara . 2 1
majority of the Purana manuscripts, the Vayu, the Brahmanda and most manuscripts
of the Matsya supporting Candasrt Sdtakarni and only the Visnu and stray manus-
cripts of the Bhagavata and one manuscript of the Matsya favouring the spelling
Candrasrt. (Cf. F. E. Pargiter, Purana Text of the Dy. of Kali Age , p. 43 and fns.
19, 22). It is true that Rapson read the legend on the coins of this king as Ratio
Vdsithiputasa Siri-Cada-Satisa with a dental -d- Cat. Coins of the Andhra Dynasty ,
pp. 30-1). But the letter which he reads as -da- is hardly different from the letter
in the coins of a different fabric, seemingly of the same king, to which
he gave the value of -da- {Cat. Coins of the Andhra Dynasty , pp. 32-3,
pi. VI). If the legend on the coins of this Vasisthiputra (Rapson, nos. 1 17-124) must
be read with a dental -d- 3 so can be read the name in the Kodavali Well Inscription.
Cf. H. Krishna Sastri in E.I., XVIII, p. 317.
19 JBORS., XXII, p. 277, n. 1.
20 Lambaka t XII, Tarahga , XIV ( Nirnaya Sagar edition, pp. 421 ff.). It is the
seventh story according to the order in the Kathasaritsagara.
21 Critical editions of the Brhatkathamanjari and the Kathasaritsagara based
on very thorough examination of all available manuscripts are a great necessity.
Study of these two texts will then be placed on a scientific basis,
In the Km. we find that Candra- appears as Canda- (p. 7, 11 . 1 1,
14, 19; p. 14, 1 , 14; p. 21, 1 . 2; p. 28, 1 . 2; p. 46, 11 . ii, 13). On
the other hand, Candasena’s name always appears in the Sanskrit
passages as Candasena and not as Candra-sena (p. 29, 1. 8; p. 30,
1 . 19; p- 32, 1 . 5 and p. 36, 1 . 13). Consequently the text of the Km.
goes against the phonetic equation proposed by J.
It is thus clear that the Km. cannot be taken as referring to
Candragupta I. 22 Nor can we determine the date or the historicity of
Kalyanavarman, Candasena and Kirtisena. Consequently the story
cannot help us in fixing the upper limit of the date of the drama.
Now let us look for other indications in the work for the date.
The very first verse which gives a clear indication is as follows :
’rfaw:
irnraufajiteff ftrafaqr
^ WfrTC 'hfasilSIT: 11
The authoress is here paying obeisance to Siva (Krttivasas),
The second half of the verse uses two adjectives for Krttivdsdh which
are remarkable (1) hrafUT (“spread-
ing, as it were, in the form of the lustre of his teeth, the knowledge
that cuts the knot of duality’’) and (2) The second
22 It is surprising how Jayaswal could gather from Km., IV. 6
(^EKTfWd q m ki i I
that Candasena was a Karaskara (=Dhanri Jat of the Punjab!) by birth. The last
line of die verse means that in course of his oppressions Candasena has now
(samfrati) become a ‘‘veritable Karaskara among kings.” Aryaraksita is explaining
to Vardhamanaka how Candasena has become unpopular among his subjects. To
take Candasena as a born Karaskara from this passage is doing violence to the text.
J, is wrong in taking the Karaskaras as a northern people. They seem to have be-
longed to the Deccan (Matsya Parana , Ch. 1 14, vv. 45-49). But karaskarab in Km.
IV. 6 seems to mean a poison tree (Panini, VI. 1.156, Bhagavata Parana V. 14.12
and Rajanighanta, IX. 142). Candasena load thus become a “poison tree” among
kings by his misdeeds.
59 2 The Date of the Kaumudtmahotsava
adjective is striking. Why is Siva connected with brabma-vyakhyana
(exposition of Brahman)? Is it not very strange? If, however, we
suppose that the authoress was thinking of the great
Sankaracarya, believed to be an avatara of Siva, both the
adjectives become appropriate. The whole energy of Sankaracarya
was spent in establishing the advaita doctrine and refuting dualism
and he is known as the commentator of the Brahma-sutras, at least
among Advaitins. Brahmavyakhyananisthah would admirably suit
the well known teacher of Brahma-vidya —
3TW. ‘who is always engaged in the exposition of Brahman.” For
Siva the construction is not easy : it will have to be something like
this — (!)f^T=?!WR “who is the
end of expositions of Brahman”). It is more usual to have a Bahu-
vrihi compound of nistha with a word in the locative than with one in
the genitive. Similarly the adjective JTRTc3r*lf'*riNt hraftr? would
refer to Sankaracarya more directly. In the case of Siva the inter-
pretation will have to be a little round about — Siva is supposed to
give higher knowledge, which an Advaitin will assume to be a dis-
peller of dualism. As regards the adjective in the first half of the
verse the portion from <.< R d d % to will suit
Siva and his incarnation equally well, for Sankaracarya as a
Sannyasin must have used a seat of tiger skin when engaged in yogic
contemplation. It is only iR^ii that creates
some difficulty in the case of Sankaracarya, for it is not
easy to believe that he used an actual snake for tying himself fast
( paryahka-bandha ). Is taksaka in his case to be understood as the
T — shaped wooden rest, called takha in Hindi, much used by
Sadhus? It may have had a sharp pietallic end for splitting fire-
wood. 22 * Even then Rfl remains unexplained. What-
22a This suggestion has emanated from a friend of mine, who is not only a good
student of yoga but a practical yogin himself.
The Date of the ICaumudimahotsava
593
ever that may be the other adjectives clearly suggest that the authoress
is referring here together to Siva and his incarnation Sankaracarya.
Compare the words of Sayanacarya at the beginning of his vedic
commentaries,
%^T 5PT3; i
cTOf ^ II
Here Sayana has identified Brahman, his ista-devata Siva, and his
guru Vidyarirtha. Our authoress seems to have held Sankaracarya
in similar regard. In any case, the idea ftafinr
hardly be understod before Sankaracarya popularised the advaita
doctrine.
The work is then to be assigned to a date not earlier than that
of the great Vedantist. Sankara is usually believed to have
lived between 788 and 820 A.D. 23 but this date now appears to be
too late. 230 In any case, this much can be safely said that he lived some-
time between 650 A.D. and 800 A.D. This would then represent
the upper limit of the date of the Km.
As one carefully goes through the drama one finds that this
upper limit is confirmed by the borrowings of the authoress. Dasha-
ratha Sharma and D. R. Mankad have shown the influence of
Kalidasa’s writings in this drama. 21 One can considerably add to
their lists. Thus
Km., p. 4, 11 . 14-15. ( ) ft 3 ^ ir «ng:
This is clearly suggested by Abhijnanasakuntala , Act I {
^ 3 Tlf: frT: M Patankar,
Poona 1902, p. 11). It should be noted that the throbbing of
23 K. B. Pathak, IA XI, pp. 174-5; XLII, p. 235; JBBRAS., XVIII, 218; D. R.
Bhandarkar, IA ., XLI, 206 etc. K. T. Telang pleaded for an earlier date in 1 A XIII,
95-103 and Introduction to the Mudraraksasa (B.S.S.), pp. xxxixff. See also J. F.
Fleet, IA., XVI. 41-2.
23a See T. R. Chintamani, Journal of Oriental Research , Madras, III, pp. 39-56,
S. Kuppuswami Sastri, Brahmasiddhi , Introduction, p. lviii etc.
24 IHQ., X, pp. 763-6; XI, pp. 147-8; ABL, XVI, pp. 155-1 57.
SEPTEMBER, 1938
22
594 Date of the Kaumudtmahotsava
Dusyanta’s right arm soon secures him a good damsel, whereas
- Kalyanavarman gets Kirtimati after a long time.
P. 6, 1 . (=by the Asoka tree growing wild in the forest)
^T% WWUMMMRlf sEptf Cf - Ahh - 1 '7 cd - ^ 3#-
^TrTTfiT: (P- “)•
p. io, li. 1-2 tstarefarfor forrereft sir-
f^<!T clearly suggested by Kumdrdsambbavd III. 56,
li"
The underlined expressions are identical. It is more natural that a
line in verse should have been copied in prose than the other way
about.
P. 11, 11. 5 ff.- The discovery of the pearl necklace inadvertently left by
Kirtimati was probably suggested by the mrndla-valaya left by Sakun-
tala in Act III of Abb. according to not only the long addition in the
Bengali recension but also verse 25 (p. 76) of the Devanagari text.
P. 15, 11. 25-26 snyrqft ms# 1 qvft
5ftf: reminds one 'of the talks between Anasuya,
Priyarhvada and Sakuntala in Act I of Abb. (pp. 15-16) about the
navamalika Vanajyotsna. The mddbavi creeper is named just before
this in the Kashmiri recension (ed. K. Burkhard, p. 28) and imme-
diately after in the Bengali text (ed. Permchand Tarkavagisa,
P p. 14-15).
P. 22, 1. 16 <R; 5 |R^|Rt fJTR: I Cf - Abh - Act 111 rR:
(P-. 53 )» usuing a form ( kdrnayamana -) which is
* / unusual in classical texts, though grammatically correct.
P. 44, 11. 18-19 The underlined
expression seems to have been suggested by gfg etc. in Abh. VI.
5 (P- * 5 °>
P. 48, 11. 7-8. The Vidusaka’s mistaking a picture-roll thrown in that direction
by Nipunika for a serpent seems clearly to have been suggested by the
incident of Iravati’s maid Nipunika throwing a stick at the sleeping
, Vidusaka in Act IV of the Malavikagnimitra and his mistaking it for
a real snake (ed. S. P. Pandit, p. 121, 11 . 158 ff.). It is more natural
to mistake a stick as a serpent than a picture-roll.
The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
595
If Kalidasa be assigned to the reign of Candragupta II
Vikramaditya (c. 380c. 415 A. D.) or of Kumaragupta I Mahendra-
ditya (c. 415-455 A.D.) or his son Skandagupta Vikramaditya
(455 A.D. — c. 467 A.D.), the Km. cannot be dated as early as
c. 340 A.D. I am, however, of opinion that Kalidasa lived before
Asvaghosa (second century A.D.) who borrowed from him and not
vice versa . 20 If my view about the date of Kalidasa (not later than
.100 A.D.) is correct, there will, of course, be no difficulty in dating
the Km. at about 340 A.D. on account of borrowings from Kalidasa.
But there are works of dates later than 340 A.D. whose influence
we can trace in the work.
The proclamation under orders of the minister Mantragupta
for the celebration by the citizens of Pataliputra in Act V of our
drama (p. 39), an incident of no importance in the plot, seems
clearly to have been suggested by a similar order of Candragupta
Maurya in Act III of the Mudraraksasa (and its forbiddance by
Canakya), a very important event in the development of the plot of
that drama. If the Mudraraksasa be assigned to the time of Candra-
gupta II, the Km. cannot be assigned to a period even before the ac-
cession of Samudragupta, a predecessor of Candragupta II. According
to J.’s theory the reign of Candasena = Candragupta I was followed by
the accession of Kalyanavarman and his brief rule, after which
Samudragupta came to power and ruled long enough to complete his
extensive conquests. The rule of Candragupta II, therefore, would
thus begin at least 20 to 30 years after the alleged date of the com-
position of the Km.
But the Mudraraksasa cannot be assigned to even such an early
date as the reign of Candragupta II. The evidence of manuscripts
is more in favour of the reading for the close of the
25 See Allahabad University Studies, vol. II, pp. 79-170, ]IH., vol. XV, pp.
93-102 and Kuppuswami Commemoration Volume > pp. 17-24.
596 The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
: % *
last verse than i Consequently we should assign
Visakhadatta to the time of Avantivarman, very likely the-Maiikhari
king, father of Grahavarman. This Avantivarman we should place
in the second half of the sixth century and that is very likely the date
of the Mudraraksasa . 2G
There are still later works whose influence we can discern in the
Km. The Nagananda, passing in the name of king Harsavardhana
(606-647 A.D.), 27 has supplied three motifs to our authoress: (x)
The first one is the manner of the first meeting of the hero and the
heroine. In the Nag., Jimutavahana comes to the Malaya mountain
and meets Malayav’ati in the temple of Gauri, after she had wor-
shipped the goddess. There is love at first sight on both the sides.
Malayavati feels so bashful that she cannot directly face Jimuta-
vahana but slightly turns her face and feels like getting away from
the place. Soon a hermit comes and calls her away. While going
she keeps on slyly looking at Jimutavahana. In the Km. Kirtimati
comes to pay her respects to Candi Vindhyavasini and after coming
out of the temple sees Kalyanavarman. Here also there is love at
first sight and the same bashfulness on the part of the heroine, who
sits behind her friend Nipunika but keeps on sending stealthy
glances at the prince. A maid now announces that her place for
residence has been got ready and she should now go there. Kirti-
mati leaves the place with difficulty, again and again looking at
26 Sten Konow’s recent attempt at securing support for his view ( Das indische
Drama x pp. 70-1) that Visakhadatta lived in the reign of Candragupta II from the
tide Devi-Candragupta of the author’s other drama ( JBORS XXIII, pp. 450*1) is
unconvincing. *
27 The foreigner I-Tsing, who came to India after the time of Harsa, naturally
knew die work as Harsa’s, as it circulated in the king’s name. But there is internal
evidence in the Ratnavali (Prologue, verse 5 and the whole trend of the Stage*
Manager’s speech) showing that the Ratnavali was written by a person who wanted
to please the king. The Pttyadarsikd and the Nagananda seem to have been written
by the same courtier-Pandit.
597
The Date of the Kaumudtmahotsava
Kalyanavarman and tarrying on various pretexts. l"hc agreement
of the two motifs is striking.
The sense of one verse in our drama,
*TRTT facJKrgjff Wl <
^rf^FTT#?F^rRfTT?^ Trgr % n
uttered by Kalyanavarman after Kirtimati leaves his company,
becomes clear when we place before us the corresponding utterance
of Jimutavahana,
II (Nag. I. 19).
The last line of the latter verse explains the corresponding line
of the former : We are to supply after WTT 3 T % in Km., I. 26d.
The two verses have other points of contact.
2. There is another partial agreement between the two works.
In the Nag., the heroine is appraised in her dream by the goddess
Gauri about her coming marriage with the hero (Act. I) and in Km.
the nun Yogasiddhi makes the false claim before the king of
Mathura that the goddess Candi has enjoined her in a dream about
the marriage of Kirtimati with Kalyanavarman (p. 38, 1 . 9 to p. 39,
1 . 3 and p. 39, 1. 21 to p. 40, 1. 3). This ruse of Yogasiddhi is an
absolutely unnecessary one. As Kirtisena was a friend of Kalyana-
varman’s father (p. 40, 1 . 1 7) and Kalyanavarman is now established
on his father’s throne, there is no reason why the king of Mathura
should not readily agree to marry Kirtimati to Kalyanavarman, the
moment such a proposal was made by Yogasiddhi or by Kalyana-
varman himself.
3. The third motif agreeing in the two works is this. In the
Nag., Act II, the next meeting of the hero and the heroine takes
place thus. Jimutavahana enters a sandal bower with his confidant
and Malayavati and her maid who were already there now move
away and watch them from behind a tree. Malayavati overhearing
The Date of the Kaumtidtmahotsava
598
their talk only from the middle supposes that the prince is in love
with sorne other woman about whom he is talking and whose por-
trait he has just painted on the floor of the bower. She is deeply
hurt, leaves the place and tries to kill herself. Ultimately she is
saved and she is told that the person Jimutavahana was talking about
was her own self and all doubts are dispelled when she'is shown the
picture he has painted. The marriage of the pair comes immediate-
ly after this event. In the Km., Act V, we have some of these
elements partly reproduced. The meeting of the hero and the hero-
ine here is not their second one, though it is certainly their second
appearance on the stage together . 28 But their marriage and final
union are to come just after this. Kalyanavarman, now the estab-
lished king of Magadha, is conversing with his confidant in a bower
in his palace garden and Kirtimati, sent by her father for marriage
with him, is approaching that spot along with her friend Nipunika.
Nipunika shows her the joint portrait of Kalyanavarman and Kirti-
mati which has played an important part in the development of the
plot. Kirtimati does not look at the whole of the picture and sup-
poses that the woman painted by the side of Kalyanavarman is some
other girl with whom he is in love and is deeply tormented at the
thought. Nipunika makes her look carefully at the picture and she
realises with joy that it is her own self that is painted by the side of
her lover. Nipunika throws the picture inside the bower and the
king and the Vidusaka come out when the lovers meet. The mis-
take of Kirtimati about the female companion of the king in the
picture, though short-lived, is extremely unnatural.
We then, find the influence of another work contemporaneous
with the Nagananda, viz., the Harsacarita of Banabhatta. After
Kalyanavarman is firmly seated on the throne, Kirtisena, the
28 Verses 2 6 and 27 in Act V show that the lovers had met after Act I and
the incidents described in Acts II and III and not “seen each other only once before
the marriage*’ as J, hastily supposed (ABL, XII, 52).
The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
599
king of Mathura, sends to him along with his daughter a wonderful
necklace of gajamuktd, tracing back its origin to the Mahabharata
War,, which was kept in the family as a precious heir-loom (Km.,
p. 42). It seems that our authoress was influenced here by two inci-
dents described in the Harsacarita, the gift of a wonderful umbrella
sent by Bhaskaravarman, king of Kamarupa, to Harsavardhana soon
after his accession, to secure his political friendship ( Ucchvasa VII) and
of a pearl necklace of alleged mythic origin which was once in the
possession of the historical Nagarjuna who gave it to his friend, king
Satavahana, which in course of sisya-parampard reached the hands of
the Buddhist teacher Divakaramitra, who gave it to Harsavardhana
after he rescued Rajyasri (Ucchvasa VIII).
There are also traces of the influence of a still later writer, viz.,
Bhavabhuti, who is assigned to the end of the seventh century A.D.
In Act. V of the Km. when Kirtimati is approaching the bower in
the garden of Kalyanavarman already occupied by the king, as soon
29 S. K. Belvalkar, Rama’s Later History, H.O.S., vol. XXI, pp. xli-xlvi. Some
scholars now suppose from the joint testimony of a manuscript of the Malatimddhava
(S. P. Pandit, Gandavaha, B.S.S., p. ccvi) and the Pratyaktattvapradipa of Citsukha
with its commentary, the NayanaprasadM, by Pratyagrupa (Nirnaya Sagar edition,
p. 265) that Bhavabhuti was the same person as Umbeka, commentator of Mandana s
Bhivanaviveka, and very likely one of the pupils of Kumarila Bhatta. This identi-
fication, if accepted, would corroborate the latter half of the seventh century as the
date of Bhavabhuti. I am myself not convinced about the identification. I fear
that though Pratyagrupa definitely identifies Umbeka with Bhavabhuti, Citsukha s
own words —
ft S^iH ^ TR'F.d 1 [d+.ifta^^rft^dtnfnu 1 *iwfct
definitely suggest that he distinguished between Bhavabhuti and Umbeka. If he
had identified them he would have said 3^’ instead of just after
referring to Bhavabhuti. The style of Umbeka, as far as it can be judged front., his
•commentary on the Bhavanaviveka, appears to be different from that of Bhavabhuti ’s
dramas and it shows no sign of the well-known self-consciousness of Bhavabhuti.
6oo The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
as she hears his voice, she gets horripilations all over her body. She
asks Nipunika to stand in front covering her from the sight of the
king, when the maid says jestingly WRIT ( 4 1 )
* W jpj ^ yocjjfttiit siigdl Kirtimati feels ashamed at
this physical manifestation of her sentiments and says fife 4
? (p. 4 6). This last sentence immediately reminds us of
a passage in the Third Act of the Uttararamacarita. Rama has fallen
into a swoon and the invisible Sita touches him at the bidding of
Tamasa to bring him back to consciousness. Rama regains cons-
ciousness and catches hold of the invisible hand of his beloved. Sita
gets very much agitated and it is some time before she can withdraw
her hand. Tamasa wistfully looks at her and says :
*n3T fiprereMfr stmt »
(v. 43), when Sita is filled with shame and says to herself
1 I This speech
of Sita has clearly suggested Kirtimati’s words. Kirtimati has no
reason for feeling any shame particularly before her confidante
Nipunika. But Sita has good reason for feeling ashamed at the
words of the goddess Tamasa, for, she adds herself, fis 1 % fawf «RTT
I ’RTt \ iRTt 1 ( Uttararamacarita , S. K.
Belvalkar, p. 45). Then again in the same Act of the Km. when
Kalyanavarman comes out of the bower, he unexpectedly finds Kirti-
jmati in his front and he takes her into his arms and congratulates
himself on his good fortune, but says to the Vidusaka that he can
hardly believe his eyes :
'R^sf'T * fiPURT: I
flfS'R'srr sr| 4 t *rfecrr srag. m (verse 29).
The second half of the verse immediately reminds us
of Rama’s words in the Third Act of the Uttararamacarita :
‘^Jr s tnnratwKM fasfqsnftfitdt ftsrawr: win:
(p. 46). Rama’s supposition is justified by the fact that though he
The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava 6 ot
felt the touch of Sita he couud not see her nor did his companion
Vasanti have any experience of her presence. Hence he thought
that he had an illusion. In the case of Kalyanavarman, he saw,
heard and touched Kirtimati, who was accompanied by her maid,
and his companion, the Vidusaka, also saw the two ladies. Under
the spell of the words of Bhavabhuti ringing in his ears, our authoress
has failed to realise the absurdity of Kalyanavarman’s apprehension
of illusion.
The Uttar aramacarita may not be the only work of Bhavabhuti
to which our authoress is indebted. The Buddhist nun Kamandaki
in the Malatimadhava , equally interested in Malati and Madhava,
who helps in bringing about their mutual love and subsequently
contrives their marriage, seems to be the original of the nun in the
Km. who was once the nurse of Kalyanavarman, but turned a nun
after the death of Sundaravarman and his queens and became attach-
ed to Kirtimati. She too played an important part in the develop-
ment of their love and later arranged their marriage. Painting of
the picture of an absent lover or beloved for finding a little solace
in separation was popularised by Kalidasa ( Abhijnanasakuntala , Act*
VI, Meghaduta, ed. Nandargikar, Uttaramegha , verse 44). Bhava-
bhuti has introduced in the lyialatimadhava (Act. I) the motif of the
hero and heroine painting each other’s portrait on the self-same can-
vas. Malati who had seen Madhava earlier and had already fallen
in love with him painted his portrait to divert herself. After their
meeting was arranged in a garden through the intrigues of Kaman-
daki, Madhava also fell in love with her. Shortly after this, his
servant Kalahamsa brought to him the portrait painted by Malati
which he had obtained through two intermediaries. Madhava
painted on it the portrait of Malati at the suggestion of his friend
Makaranda and the picture was conveyed to Malati through the same
channel. Kamandaki had a secret hand in the whole affair. We can
trace the influence of this motif in the Km. After the first meeting
X.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1938
2 3
602 The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
of Kalyanavarman and Kirtimati, the latter pines for the prince and
in trying to divert herself -paints his picture. The portrait is con-
veyed by a happy accident to the nun, Yogasiddhi, from whom
Kalyanavarman ’s friend, the Vidusaka, receives it (Act. II). Under
her instructions, he conveys it to th^ prince. He makes him paint
on it the picture of Kirtimati (Act. III). This joint portrait is then
carried to the nun and is subsequently utilised by her for bringing
about the marriage of the two lovers (Act. V). There are some more
differences in the details of the two motifs, e.g. (x) Madhava
writes on the completed picture the verse &c.
(Mai., I. 39) but Yogasiddhi writes the verse
(Km., II. 13) when only the prince has been portrayed on the
canvas by Kirtimati and (2) the completed picture returns to Malati
in Bhavabhuti’s drama but goes to Yogasiddhi in the Km. to
be shown to Kirtimati only in Act. V. Still the general agreement
of the two motifs is quite manifest. The indebtedness of the Km.
to the Malattmadhava in this respect cannot be proved but appears
to be likely on account of the certain influence of the Uttararama-
carita pointed out above and Yogasiddhi’s agreement with
Kamandaki.
This motif of a joint portrait is also found in the Ratnavali
ascribed to Harsa (Act. II) and in the Dasaknmaracarita ( Ucchvasa
V) of Dandin ( circa seventh century A.D.). It is. not impossible
that our authoress got a clue from Dandin. The Dasaknmaracarita
also shows a nurse of a prince turning a nun out of sorrow after she
lost trace of the prince in her charge and her royal master lost his
kingdom (Ucchvasa III). The resemblance of Kalyanavarman ’s nurse,
Vinayandhara, later becoming the nun Yogasiddhi, in the Km.
with woman may not be accidental.
Then the motif of the growing in the Vindhya forest of
Rajavahana, son of the dispossessed king of Magadha, and
his subsequent attainment of the ancestral kingdom in the
romance of Dandin may have suggested to our authoress
the secret rearing up in the Vindhya forest of Kalyanavarman,
prince of Magadha, and his subsequent return to Magadha as its
king. The story may thus have absolutely no basis in history.
We thus see -that we cannot place the Kaumudimahotsava
earlier than 700 A.D. This is the upper limit for its date. Can
we fix a lower limit? Unfortunately we have no means at our dis-
posal to do that. We may, however, become more precise about
the date of the work if we can be sure about the name
of the authoress. A suggestion has been made that it is
Vijjika. Vijjika or V ljjaka is well known as a poetess, whose verses
are preserved in works on anthology and whose name is variously
given as Vijjdkd, Vijjika, Vijjd or Vidyd . o0 The extant verses of
this Vijjaka make it extremely likely that she is the Vijayanka (or
Vijaya?) of Karnata country named by Rajasekhara,
w fasrw srerercft 1
3 T ^Tf^raT^cT<n 11
because they are all in good V aidarbhi style and we know that the
poetess called herself Sarasvati,
fast# *rW3TM?TT 1
sip’ sfgiRT isrcsRfr 11
(Sarngadharapaddhati, no. 180).
V.
It is, however, extremely doubtful if we should follow Mr. P.
Kane' 12 in further identifying her with Vijaya-mahadevi or
30 Subhasttavali, cd. Peterson and Durgaprasada, nos. 158, 1141, 1175, 1523,
2090, 3137, 3138, Sarngadharapaddhati, ed. Peterson, nos. 180, 451, 509, 582, 1003,
1131, 3746, 3769, 3794, Kavindravacanasamuccaya (?), ed. F. W. Thomas, nos. 298
and 500, Saduktikarnamrta, ed. Ramavatara Sarrna (Lahore, 1933), I. 2.3, II. 12.1,
13.1, 14.1, 21.4, 56.4, 103.2, 140.2, III. 7.1, 9.1, 15.1, 28.4, IV. 49.3, V. 74.1
31 No 184 in the Sarngadharapaddhati, where it is anonymous. The
verse is ascribed to Rajasekhara in Jalhana’s Suktimuktavali. (P. V. Kane, Sahitya-
darpana, Introduction, p. xli).
32 Sahityadarpana, Introduction, p. xli.
The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
604
V i jaya-bhattarika (the queen of Candraditya, son of the Calukya
Pulakesin II), who calls herself kalikala-pratipaksabhiita in her
Kochrem plates (Kielhorn’s List of Southern Inscriptions , no. 24)
and whose Nerur plates (Kielhorn’s List no. 23) give the date of
659 A.D. 33 It is difficult to believe that the royal panegyrics
ij'jrai: ( Saduktikarnamrta , III. 15. 1) and
&c. ( Ibid ., III. 28. 4) could have been written by a queen
or a princess. If it is justified to infer from the missing
letters in the name of the authoress in the prologue of the
Km. that it was Vijjika or Vijjaka, Vijjaka’s date would be the
date of our work.
Vijjaka is either later than Dandin or is his contemporary, be-
cause of her proud assertion, &c. referred to above, in
which she clearly refers to Dandin’s Kavyadarsa I. 1. id. The question
of Dandin’s date is a vexed problem in the history of Sanskrit litera-
tyre. 31 He is perhaps later than Bhamaha but there is nothing to
show that Bhamaha’s date is as late as 700 A.D. Bhamaha’s alleged
borrowings from Dharmakirti really appear to be borrowings from
Vasubandhu and Dinnaga.’’’ Consequently it may be possible to
assign Dandin to the seventh century A.D. In any case he is not
later than the eighth century. The seventh or the eighth century
would thus represent the upper limit of Vijjaka’s date, which we
have already found to be the upper limit of the Km. on account of
33 Appendix to El., vol. VII, p. 5, n. 9.
34 See S. K. De, History of Sanskrit Poetics , vol. I, pp. 58-70, Batuk Nath
Sarma and Baladeva Upadhyaya, Kavyalahkara of Bhamaha , Introduction, pp. 35-40,
A. B. Keith, History of Sanskrit Literature , p. 375, n. 2-5, P. V. Kane, Sahitya-
darpana, Introduction, pp. xxv-xl.
35 Batuk Nath Sarma and Baladeva Upadhyaya, op. cit. t pp. 40-55, H. R.
Rangaswamy Iyengar, Proceedings and Transactions of the Eighth AU-lndia
Oriental Conference , Part II, pp. 419-424. I would myself place Dinnaga, who is,
according to Buddhist tradition, the parama-gum of Dharmakirti (seventh century
in the sixth century and his teacher Vasubandhu in the time of Narasimha-
gupta ( c . 473 A.D*), the only Baladitya, son of a Vikramaditya, known to history.
The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
605
the reference to Sankaracarya and on account of the borrowing of
ideals from other authors. The lower limit of Vijjaka is supplied
by the quotation of her verse €f%' | etc. ( Sarhga -
dbarapaddhati ) no. 3769, Kavtndrauacanasamuccaya , no. 500, Saduk-
tikarnamrta, II. 14, 1) in the Dasampavaloka of Dhanika (II. 21)
whose date is the tenth century 18 and in the Abhidhavrttimatrka
(p. 12) of Mukulabhatta who lived in the first half of the tenth
century. 87 Consequently Vijjaka is to be assigned to a date between
the seventh and the ninth centuries A.D. Vijaya named by Raja-
sekhara certainly lived before 900 A.D. If the authoress of the
Km. is Vijjaka or Vidya she has to be placed between the seventh
and the ninth centuries A.D.
But can we be sure that she is Vijjaka? Till other manuscripts
are discovered and they clearly shows the reading Vijjaka , we must
take the guess with extreme caution, particularly as there is no clear
evidence in favour of Vijjaka’s authorship of the Km. None of the
verses in our drama can be traced among the verses ascribed to Vijjaka
in the anthologies. " s The style of Vijjaka is definitely Vaidarbhi but
the same can hardly be said of the Km. which seems to use the Pahcalt
style. There is also gresater grace and much higher poetical quality in
the preserved verses of Vijjaka than in our drama. Then Rajasekhara’s
statement shows that she belonged to the south (Karnata), whereas
our authoress who knows not only Kausambi but also Suyamuna =
modern Sujawan on the Jumna, near Allahabad (I. 1 i), ja was pro-
36 S. K. De, of. cit., pp. 13 1-4, P. V. Kane, of. cit., p. lxxxvii.
37 S. K. De, of, cit., p. 76, P. V. Kane, of. cit., p. lxxvi.
38 I have also not been able to find the verses in the Km. quoted in any of the
anthologies or works on alankara.
39 Sujawan is on the right bank of the Jumna, a few miles above Allahabad
and very near Bhita. The Archaeological Department of India is to be congratu-
lated for starting excavation at Kausambi and resuming operations at Bhita, The
Department should also pay attention to Sujawan, which is sure to yield a rich
harvest to the spade of the excavator.
6o 6 The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
bably a northerner. Her identification with Vijjaka is, for these
reasons, extremely doubtful.
Consequently in the present state of our knowledge we fail to
fix the lower limit of the work or to settle its approximate date.
The only definite conclusion we have been able to arrive at is that it
was not written before Sankaracarya. This serves at least one useful
purpose, viz., the rejection of the inferences about the early history
of the Guptas made by Jayaswal on the basis of this work. 10
i
K. Chatiopadhyaya
40 It is sad that the great scholar Jayaswal is no longer living to reply to my
criticisms or to accept my findings.
The Causeway of Giants at Angkor Thom
Everybody knows that the bridges, which cross the moats of
Angkor Thom and give access to the five gates of the city, are
decorated by balustrades, constituted by two huge nagas with hoods
turned outside and with bodies supported by giants in stone
which represent on one side the Devas and on the other the Asuras.
This motif which is found also in other monuments of the
same period (end of the 12th century A.D.) is generally interpreted 1
as the representation of the churning of the ocean, an architectural
symbolism of which there are other examples . 2 In a remarkable
article entitled ‘ Angkor in the time of Jayavarman VII” and
published in the Indian Art and Letters 1 my friend and collabora-
tor M. Paul Mus gives a quite different interpretation of these
bridges with balustrades of nagas supported by the giants, and I
propose to confirm his interpretation with new arguments and make
his information more complete on certain points.
M. Paul Mus finds in these bridges of Angkor Thom a
representation of the rainbow which according to Indian tradition
is the link of union between the world of men and the world of
gods which is materialised on earth by the royal city. His interpre-
tation is based on a verse contained in the Sanskrit inscription
dedicated by Jayavarman VII at the south-western corner of the
outer walls of Angkor Thom. These verses are:
Vilasita-vyalikhacchrhga eko
bhujagasadanasangagadhatanya pi tena
anukuruta ime te nirmmite $rimaha$ft-
jayagirijayasindhii tadbrhatkirttikoiim
1 C£. BEFEO., XII, 9, pp. 181-182.
2 Among the first works in which this hypothesis has been formulated,
C. J. Commaille, Guide aux mines d’ Angkor, p. no.
3 Vol. XI, 1937, pp. 65-75.
6 o8
The Causeway of Giants at Angkor Thom
“One scraped the bright sky with its pinnacle and the other in
its unfathomable depth reached the world of serpents; the £ri-
mahajayagiri and the ^rimahagrijayasindhu erected by Jayavarman
both emulated the arc of his mighty glory.” 1
I have proved already that Jayagiri and Jayasindhu are
the names given respectively to the outer wall and the moat of the
city.'’ “According to this poetical comparison, says M. Mus, 1 ’
the Mountain of Victory and the Sea of Victory emulate the Arc
of glory of the King. But the meaning of the latter term is not
questioned : a king’s arc of glory is the representation of the Arc of
Indra, or in other words the rainbow, itself symbol of the divine
power of sovereigns. Let us now take our stand before the actual
lanscape of Angkor Thom. The Mountain of Victory and the Sea
of Victory here become before our eyes, if we may so put it, a
rampart and a moat. The third expression is missing. This
should be a materialisation of this same rainbow which we learn from
elsewhere to be a divine bridge. The conclusion is obvious : the Arc
of Glory of Jayavarman VII, vying in splendour with the rampart
and the moat, is the bridge which is the worldly representation of
the rainbow.”
M. Paul Mus has interpreted the expression anukurutah as
meaning that the rampart and the moat “rivalled in splendour”
with the bridge, but I do not think that this is exactly what the poet
wanted to say. The poet wanted probably to note that the glory of
the king, poured out in the universe from the heaven up to the
under-world, was exalted in the architectural complex comprising,
in the sky, the rampart that reaches the heaven and, below, the
moat which in its depth reaches the world of serpents. This is at
least the first interpretation which occurs to anybody who may be
a little acquainted with the style of the Sanskrit inscriptions of
4 BEFEO., XXVIII, p. 88.
5 Ibid.
6 1AL., p. 7 o.
The Causeway of Giants at Angkor Thom 609
Cambodia. But one is never sure of having exhausted all the
niceties of a Kavya stanza even though he may have drawn two
or three meanings from it, because the subtleties of the court poets
are infinite, and in the present case M. Paul Mus is certainly justi-
fied in drawing a third meaning relating to bow, and in discovering
in it an allusion to the rainbow of which the material representation
is the bridge of giants.
I can besides furnish another argument in favour of his inter-
pretation. The five gates of Angkor Thom are decorated at their
angles with gigantic heads of tricephalic elephants. One of these
elephants at least (the Gate of Victory, north-east corner) still bears
an image of Indra holding the Vajra and it is not too much to
suppose that each of these elephants bore a similar image. 7 The
rainbow is the bow of Indra and the presence of that god at the end
of the bridge in the axis of the nagas certainly confirms the hypo-
thesis of M. Paul Mus.
On the other hand I am not quite in agreement with him
when he writes : ‘ ‘The plastic motif of the churning, in which the
great serpent already appeared, was no doubt, through association
of ideas the first model for this new construction.” 8 If the giants
of the bridges may be an innovation of Jayavarman VII, the motif
of naga as balustrade of the bridge is much more ancient and goes
back to the beginning of the classical Khmer art. The oldest
example of it is found at Bakong which is dated from 881 A.D. 9
Now there is no necessity of bringing in the myth of the churning
to explain the architectural motif of the bridge with the double
naga-balustrade. The rainbow theme is sufficient, and to the
arguments cited by M. Paul Mus 10 I may add another which is
more actual. In the popular Siamese and Cambodian imagery
7 H. Marchai, Guide archeologique aux Temples d’ Angkor, p. 85.
8 IAL. S p. 71. 9 G. Ccedes, Inscriptions du Cambodge, I, p. 31.
10 lAL. t pp. 70-71.
SEPTEMBER, 1938
610 The Causeway of Giants at Angkor Thom
the rainbow staircase by which the Buddha descends from the
heaven of the Thirty-three is always represented with two hand-
rails in the shape of nagas of which the heads touch the ground.
It is not without interest to note that the first occurrence of
this motif at Bakong, towards the end of the 9th cent., belongs to a
period in which some Javanese influence is recognisable in the
Khmer art, as a consequence o£ the reign of Jayavarman II who came
back from Java'.
This influence is manifested amongst other things in Cam-
bodia in the introduction of the Kalamakara-torana motif with
divergent heads of makaras.” Its connection with the naga-balus-
trade on one hand and with the rainbow 12 on the other is apparent.
This evidence goes to strengthen the thesis of M. Paul Mus but it
places the introduction of the architectural motif in the Khmer
country several centuries earlier.
It is not therefore the myth of the churning of ocean which
has furnished the Khmer architects with the naga motif for the
decoration of the balustrades of their bridges, although this myth
had certainly inspired the constructors of the causeways of
Angkor Thom and contaminated the more ancient theme of the
rainbow bridge.
It may be noted in this connection that the presence of the two
serpents does not in any way stand in the way of our recognising-
in the causeway of giants a plastic representation of the churning,
as M. Paul Mus thinks. “At Angkor Thom, he says, there is
not one serpent, there are two. Gods and Titans each carry their
own. Further instead of pulling against each other, they are in
two parallel lines facing those who arrive. It is quite clear that they
1 1 ■ G. de Cotal-Remusat, ‘Influences javanaises dans 1 ‘art . de Roluoh,’ }A
CCXXIII, 1933, p. 190.
, 12 G. de Coral-Remusat, ‘Arumaux fantastiques de l’lnde,’ BEFEO., XXXVI,
,p. 43°.
The Causeway of Giants at Angkor Thom 6n
are churning nothing.” 13 This last remark is as judicious as the
explanation which he gives a little later of the presence of the two
serpents. It Cannot be however denied that the representation
of the churning at Angkor Vat 11 and Bayon 15 contains two ser-
pents : one coiling around the mountain as a cordon to make it
revolve, and the other reposing in the bottom of the ocean. Evi-
dently the latter is so to say caught in the arms of the Asuras of the
causeways at Angkor Thom and even if in this position the Asuras
and the Devas cannot be regarded as churning anything, the two
rows of the Asuras, the two serpents, the outer wall Jayagiri and the
moat Jayasindhu do not constitute any less the essential elements of
the churning, as it is represented in the bas-reliefs of the
1 2th century.
Why has this motif been added to that of the rainbow repre-
sented in a more simple way by a bridge with two hooded serpents?
This innovation being no doubt due to Jayavarman VII, all
that we know of the psychology of this great mystic supplies with
a twofold reply to this question.
In the first place by having a representation of the churning
of the ocean at the gates of his capital, Jayavarman VII emphasised
its divine character, because the Jayagiri and the Jayasindhu of which
the names reminded his own, thus became the cosmic mountain
and ocean.
In the second place it was common literary theme abundant-
ly exploited by the court poets to compare the battle
with the ocean churned by the king in order to win Laksmi, the
fortune, and also the amrta of Victory, 17 or again to compare
the world with a mountain which the king revolves to get
13 IAL., p. 69.
14 Le temple d' Angkor Vat )Mem. Arch. EFEO., II), 3e partie, II, pis. 351-370.
15 H. Dufour, Le Bayon d’ Angkor Thom, inner galleries, pis. 78-81.
16 G. Coedes, Un grand roi du Cam bodge : Jayavarman VII, Phnom Penh, 1935.
. 17 • For example, the inscription of Ta Prohm, st XXI ( BEFEO ., VI, pp. 52, 73).
6 12
The Causeway of Giants at Angkor Thom
the ambrosia of prosperity . 18 Jayavarman VII, the protege of the
Victory, has given his name to the mountain of the outer wall and to
the ocean of the moat. That will not perhaps be 'the proof of an
exaggerated subtlety if we try to discover in the plastic representa-
tion of the churning, effected with the moat as the ocean, and the
outer wall as the pivot, a kind of magic operation destined to pro-
duce the Fortune and to assure to the country the nectar of Victory
and Prosperity.*
\
G. CcEDES
x8 Inscription of Thnal Baray, south-east angle, st. B. XXI, 1 SCC., pp. 435, 445.
* Translated by Dr. P. C. Bagchi, M.A., Dr, es lettres (Paris).
Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan
The Calukya Taila II defeated and overthrew the Rastrakutas
in 973 A.D. and the Calukya kingship was once again revived in
the Deccan. It reached its full glory during the reign of Somesvara I
(1042-1068 A.D.) The accession of Somesvara II, son of Somes-
vara I, marked the beginning of the fratricidal war between Somes-
vara II and Vikramaditya (VI), and the decline set in. The feuda-
tory states were the worst disintegrating forces in the body politic
of those days. The feudatory princes always enjoyed vast political
powers and privileges and were waiting for an opportunity to declare
independence. Whenever the sovereign authority was weak, they
rose in rebellion and often declared independence.
The fratricidal war between Somesvara II and Vikramaditya
(VI), two sons of Somesvara I, broke the unity of the Calukya empire
and it was divided into two hostile camps. This also gave the ini-
portant feudatory princes an opportunity to enhance their power.
The Calukya empire was reunited by Vikramaditya VI when he
ascended the throne in 1076 A.D. after overthrowing his brother,
but the solidarity of the empire could not be restored. The feuda-
tory princes, the Hoyasalas, the Yadavas, the Kadambas and the
Silharas strengthened their position. The Hoyasalas twice rebelled
against their sovereign and inflicted severe losses to the emperor, but
they were suppressed.
The successors of Vikramaditya VI, however, were incapable
rulers and they could not check the Hoyasalas from capturing the
whole of the southern part of the Calukya dominions. Besides the
Hoyasalas, other feudatories had also begun minor conquests and
annexations at the cost of their sovereign.
When Taila III came to the throne in 1 151 A.D. the condition
in the Calukya dominions was in a deplorable chaos. The feudatory
614 % Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan
princes were busy in asserting, their power. The important
feudatory princes, the Hoyasalas, the Kadambas, the Silharas
and the Yadavas practically became independent arid severed their
connections with the central government. Taila III was left to look
after his own fate. The Kakatiyas had established their power in
the eastern side of the Calukya dominions and the Kakatiya Prolaraja
inflicted a crushing defeat on Taila III. The Kajacurya Bijjala,
who was appointed the commander-in-chief of the Caluykan forces,
was himself waiting for an opportunity to occupy the throne at
Kalyani. As revealed by many inscriptions, his authority had over-
shadowed that of Taila III and when the latter suffered defeat at the
hands of the Kakatiya Prolaraja, Bijjala made full use of this event.
Inscriptions from 1156 A.D. show that the Kalacurya Bijjala had
begun the work of usurpation and Taila was made a puppet in his
hands. The defeat of Taila III at the hands of the
Kakatiya Prolaraja brought the crisis to the pitch, and the death of
Taila in about 1 162 A.D. left Bijjala ultimately supreme in the
Calukya kingdom. He occupied the throne and assumed full para-
mount titles. He was also helped in effecting the coup-de-etat by
the Silhara prince. 1
Beginning of the Struggle
The fall of the Imperial Calukya power created an utter political
chaos in the Deccan. The usurpation of Bijjala was quite sudden;
he could not be acknowledged as the sovereign by other feudatory
princes and they themselves began a hard struggle to strengthen
their position and capture* Kalyani, if possible.
Bijjala, soon after accomplishing the coup, opened his campaigns
to subjugate other feudatory chieftains. He had not to face any
trouble in the north. The Silharas were already friendly to him; 2
1 B.G., vol. I, pt. ii, p. 475, f.n, 6.
2 Ibid.
Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan 615
it was from the south that he apprehended danger. The death of
the Hoyasaja Visnuvardhana stopped the northward expansion of
the Hoyasajas and his successor Narasimha I could not continue his
aggressive policy. The Pandya and the Kadamba territories, which
served as the buffer principalities for the Cajukyas in the south,
were subjugated by the Hoyasala Visnuvardhana; but just at the
height of his success Visnuvardhana died. The Kadambas and
the Pandyas, immediately after the death of Visnuvardhana asserted
their power and carried on their struggle with Narasimha I, suc-
cessor of the Hoyasala Visnuvardhana.
The fall of the Cajukya power threw the feudatories in a fit of
indecision. The Pandyas and the Kadambas were fighting against
the Hoyasalas with the Cajukya help on their back, but now they
were fighting for their own existence against the Kalacuryas and the
Hoyasalas. Inscriptions dated 1165 A.D. 1 and 1182 A.D. 3 4 * show
that the Pandya chieftain Vijaya Pandya recognised the Cajukya
Jagadekamalla, probably a brother (?) of Taila III as their sovereign.
The Nidugal chief Mallideva Coja Maharaja also recognised the
Cajukyas as his sovereign in an inscription dated 1 169 A.D. ’
Bijjala seems to have begun the drive against the Kadambas
before the usurpation. In 1109 A.D. he attacked Bijjaya, the
senior general of Banavasi-nad, appointed by the Kadamba Maha-
mandalesvara Kumara Kirtti-deva.'' He beseiged the fort of Gutti
and conquered it. Another inscription of about the same date re-
cords that “when Kirttideva’s great minister Bammarasa was ruling
the kingdom in peace and wisdom, Bijjana-Deva’s minister Soya-
vamarasa was fighting, saying, “I will beseige Gutti.” 7
Bijjala was ultimately successful in suppressing the Kadambas before
3 EC., vol. XI, Dg. No. 77.
5 SIE., A.R. 1917, No. 733; H.I.SJ., p. 1 16.
6 EC., vol. VIII, Sb. No. 416.
4 Ibid., Cd. No. 13.
7 Ibid., No. 568.
616 ' Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan
1163 A.D." The Pandyas also could not hold against Bijjala and
accepted him as their overlord, 0 though sometimes they mentioned
the Calukya Jagadekamalla as their king. 8 * 10
The Hoyasajas were trying to continue their advance towards
the north and led expeditions against the Kadambas. An inscription
dated 1161 A.D. states that “Narasimha who astonished the world,
when on hearing that a Kadamba army was at Bankapura, being
raised for assault, he crushed that force and won all its spoils, bring-
ing glory to his father.” 11 Yet another inscription records another
conflict between the Kadamba and the Hoyasala forces. 12 A third
inscription dated 1161 A. D. reveals that the Mandalikas of the
Kadamba Kirttideva were fighting against the Hoyasalas and beseig-
ing the fort of Gunnalagundi. 13 Kirttideva ultimately seems to have
gained some success against the invaders, 11 but the conflict between
the Kalacuryas, the Kadambas and the Hoyasalas could not be decid-
ed finally. The Kadambas unable to fight two powers accepted the
authority of the Kalacuryas and then a struggle between the Hoya-
salas and the Kalacuryas began. They had already fought a battle on
the banks of the river Tungabhadra, before Bijjala usurped the
Calukya throne. 1 '’ The Hoyasajas had captured the fort of Gutti
from the Kadambas 111 and began raids into the Kalacurya territory.
In 1164 A.D. a Hoyasala general raided the Keriyakasive
Agrahara. 17 In 1164 A.D. Bijjala ordered his subordinate Talevur
Hendi Sovavarma (?) and other chieftains to attack the fort of Gutti
and the invaders beseiged the fort. The fort of Gunnalagundi,
which was under the possession of the Hoyasalas was also beseiged
by Bammarasa and Virarasa in 1166 A.D., but the Hoyasala general
8 Ibid ., No. 177.
10 Ibid*, vol. XI, Dg. No. 43.
12 Ibid,, Ak. No. 172.
14 lbid. t No. *7 9.
1 6 M.A.S.R. , 1928, No. 81.
9 Ibid., vol. VII, Sk. No. 18.
11 EC., vol. V, Bl. No. 193.
13 Ibid., vol. VIII, Sb. No. 306.
15 Ibid., vol. XI, Dg. No. 42.
17 EC., vol. XI, Dg. No. 84.
Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan . 617
was successful in driving away the invader by stratagem, as he had
not sufficient force to fight openly.'"
These facts indicate that the struggle between the two powers
continued without any final decision. Neither side was able to con-
tinue the struggle vigorously, because of the internal troubles. Not
long after his accession Bijjala had to face a religious revolution in the
capital and he was compelled to abdicate in favour of his son Soyideva
in 1168 A.D. 10 Rebellions had broken out in the different parts of
the Hoyasala kingdom because of the weak rule of Narasimha.
He had to abandon his campaigns in the north to find time and
means to curb the rebellions.
The internal disturbances compelled the Kalacuryas and the
Hoyasajas to stop the struggle T;he Hoyasala Narasimha was de-
throned by his son Ballala II. He rebelled against his father and
captured the throne 20 in 1173 A.D. 21 For a couple of years after
his accession, he seems to have been busy in restoring peace and
order in his dominions. Narasimha had lost much of the Northern
territories conquered and annexed by the Hoyasala Visnuvardhana.
The Kadambas and the Pandyas had again asserted their authority,
and sometimes acknowledging the Kalacuryas and sometimes the
Calukyas, they were strengthening their own position. Ballala
immediately after restoring peace in his kingdom started towards the
north and invaded the Pandya principality, which had its capital at
Uccangi.
Ballala after making full preparations marched on to the Pandya
kingdom in or before 1177 A.D. 22 The Hoyasalas captured the fort
*
18 MA.S.R., 1928. No. 81.
19 Rice, Mysore and C(\org from Inscriptions, pp. 79-80; B.G., vol. I, pt. ii,
pp. 476-77.
20 M.A.S.R., 1926, No. 55, p. 67.
21 EC., vol. V, Hn. No. 119; Ak. No. 71; Bl. No. 118.
22 EC., vol. XII, Ck. No. 36; vol. VI, Tk. No. 36.
I.U.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1938 . 25
618 .Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan
of Devadurga 23 and were then opposed by the Pandyas at Ummadur,
where a fierce battle was fought. 24 Ballala showed great personal
bravery in the battle and gained complete victory. Ballala attacked
the fort of Uccangi, which was the centre of the Pandya power.
The fort of Uccangi was very big 25 and strong, “with a moat like
Patala, as broad as the eight cardinal points, high as the sky, extend-
ing in both directions, so that it was famed in the three worlds.” 26
The fort was beseiged and stormed. The Pandya chieftains, “King
Kami and the famous Odeya and their treasury, women and troops
of horses were captured.” 2, Ballala now acquired the titles Giri-
durgamalla and Sanivarasiddhi as the fort was captured on Sanivara
(Saturday). 28 The Pandya chieftains Odeya or Udayaditya and his
father Kamadeva or Vijaya Pandya 20 submitted to Ballala for protec-
tion, who taking pity restored them to their principality.' 10 It seems
very probable that they gave a princess of their family in marriage
to Ballala. 31
Ballala now faced the Kalacuryas and the Kadambas, who had
acknowledged the former as their sovereign' 12 by the year 1x63 A.D.
When the Kadambas were attacked by the Hoyasalas, the Kala-
curyas came to their rescue. The Kalacurya Sankamadeva sent his
general Kavanayya in 1179 A.D. 13 He pitched his camp at Bettaur,
but he seems to have gained no success and therefore Sankamadeva
23 Ibid., vol, V, Bl. No. 119. 24 Ibid., Bl. No. 175.
25 Ibid., Cn. No. 289.
26 Ibid., Bl. No. 72; vol. VI, Ak. No. 10.
27 EC., vol. II, No. 327, Tr. p. 136; No. 240.
28 Ibid., vol. V, Bl. Nos. 137, 175; Ak. No. 178.
29 Ibid., vol. XI, Cd. Nos. 13, 36, Intro, p. 18; vol. IV, Ng. No. 70; H.I.S.I.,
P- 373 -
30 EC., vol. V, Bl. Nos. 136, 72; vol. VI, Tk. No. 10.
31 M.A.S.R., 1923, No. 1, p. 36.
3a Kadambakula , p. 138, f.n. 4, App, III, No. 10, pp. 444-5, 140; EC., vol,
VII, Sk. No. 171; vol. VIII, Sb. No. 431.
33 EC., vol. XI, Dg. No. 44.
Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan 619
personally came down to the south to direct the campaign. 34 From
the inscription it appears that a battle was fought at Madavajli in
1 179 A.D. between the armies of Sankama and Ballala. The battle
of Madavalli does not seem to have been decisive and the two faced
(
each other on the field of Hadadeyakuppa. The Hoyasala Ballaladeva
ordered the van of his army to attack the Kalacurya forces commanded
by Murari Kesava-Narasimha and the general Gandava Canna-kalam
Sahani. The Kalacuryas were probably defeated and they made
peace as they were threatened by the Calukya Somesvara IV, who
seems to have been making an effort to regain the throne. 3j
The withdrawal of the Kalacuryas with discomfiture left the
Kadambas all alone at the mercy of the Hoyasalas. During the
campaigns against the Kalacuryas, Ballala seems to have captured
the Kadamba fortress of Udhare. It was under the command of
the Hoyasala general ToyaPSingeya-dannayaka in 1181 A.D. 36 The
Kadamba Kamadeva who had succeeded his father Kirttideva iq
1180 A.D. sent his generals Gangeya-Sahani, Beyama-Sahani and
Javaneya-Nayaka to recapture the fort of Udhare. They “coming
with all the appliances” laid seige of the fort. 1 ' The Hoyasala
general seems to have been killed and the fort was surrendered to the
Kadambas. In 1181 A.D. Ballala seems to have defeated the
Kadambas. 33 The struggle so far placed Ballala in no territorial
advantage.
The Calukya revival
When this struggle was lingering on, suddenly the Kalcuryas
were overthrown and Kalyani was captured by the Calukya Somes-
vara, 39 one of the sons of Taila III in 1183 A.D. 40 This again
34 Kadambakula, p. 142.
36 EC., vol. VII, Sk. No. 212.
38 Ibid., vol. II, No. 327.
40 S.I.E.A.R., 1928-29, App. E. No. 207.
35 Ibid.
37 Ibid.
39 EL, vol. V, p. 259.
620
Struggle fdr Supremacy in the Deccan
changed the political condition of the Deccan. The change did not
"wipe , out the political chaos, but on the other hand made it all
the more worse. The Calukya Somesvara IV, as the inscriptions show,
was greatly helped by his general Brahma. He is styled as “the estab-
lisher of the Calukya sovereignty” and “the chief of all the leaders
of the army.” 11 Another inscription records that Brahma “having
vowed that he would uproot the destroyers of his masters, and make
the Cajukyas again lords of the earth, became the destroying fire of
the Kalachurya — (Kalacurya) kula.” 12
Ballala II wanted to take full advantage of the situation arising
out of this restoration and change. A blow at this time, when
Somesvara IV was not in a settled condition, would give an easy suc-
cess. He, leaving the struggle with the Kadambas undecided, rushed
to the north and invaded the Calukya kingdom. An inscription
dated 1 183 A.D. of the reign of the Cajukya Somesvara IV records
that Mahamandalesvara Ballala’ s force was unloosing the waists of
women. 13 Brahma seems to have been an able general. He drove
away the Hoyasala raiders and the inscription records about Barma-
devarasa as “a venomous serpent to the strong hill-fortress of the
Hoyasalas, a thunderbolt of the king Bhuvanaikamalla” i.e.,
Somesvara IV. 1 '
The revival of the Cajukya sovereignty by Somesvara IV only
served as a passing episode in the then disturbed political condition
of the Deccan. It was in a state of transition. The Hoyasalas were
making a desperate struggle for northward expansion. The Yadavas
in the northern part of the Calukya dominions had also commenced
their struggle for expansion towards the south. They were already
fighting against the Kajacuryas. The Yadava Mallugi, predecessor
of Bhillama V (1183 A.D. — 1194 A.D.) had been fighting against
•
41 El., vol. V, p. 250.
43 EC., vol. VIII, Sb. No. 419.
44 SJ.E.A.R., 1915, App. B. No. 458.
42 JRAS., vol. IV, pp. 16-17.
621
Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan
Vijjana, probably a Kalacurya prince and Dada, his general, also
claims to have defeated an army led by a Kalacurya prince. 15 After
the fall of the Kalacuryas, the Yadavas continued their hostility
against the Calukya Somesvara IV.
In these circumstances, when the resources of Somesvara
IV were crippled and few, the two strong powers advancing with
grim determination to overthrow him, and the minor feudatories
vascillating in their support and making their own position strong,
it was not possible for the Calukya Somesvara to hold his position
for a long time. Inspite of all the heroism and superb generalship
of the general Brahma, the odds were tremendously against him.
Fall of the Calukyas
Ballala seems to have prepared to strike the final blow, if possible.
With his army he started towards Kalyani. He was opposed by the
Pandyas on the way. The Pandyas had always sympathy towards
their sovereign, the Calukyas. They had no doubt submitted to the
Hoyasala Ballala, but when Somesvara IV came to the throne,
the Pandya chieftain Kamadeva immediately transferred his alle-
giance to him. Ballala defeated Kamadeva and killed him in battle
in 1187 A.D. JI> The Kannada poet Rudrabhatta in his Jagannatha-
Vijaya gives the title ari-kama-dhvam'si (i.e. destroyer of the enemy
Kama) to Ballala. 1 ' He then invaded the Calukya dominions. The
general Brahma opposed h'im with his force but suffered a crushing
defeat. The Gadag inscription records about the battle in the fol-
lowing words “And by force, he, the strong one, defeated with
cavalry only, and deprived of his sovereignty the general Brahma
whose army was strengthened by an array of elephants with a single
45 E.H.D., (Revised) pp. 183-4.
46 EC., vol. V, Bl. No. 77; vol, XI, Cd. No. 33.
4 7 tHQ ’ vol. IV, p. 133.
622 Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan
tuskiess elephant, when, on account of an insult to his father, he was
tearing the royal fortune from the family of the Kalacuryas.” 48
This sealed the fate of the Calukya Somesvara IV. His power
was shattered and he left Kalyani at the mercy of the invader arid fled
away to Jayantipura, where he was residing on the 19th September
1187 A.D. the date recorded in an inscription. ' 9 Mahamandalesvara
Vijaya Pandya was supporting him even there. Somesvara seems to
have continued-for sometime more. The Kadambas seems to have
transferred their allegiance also and it was with them that Somesvara
took shelter. An inscription dated Dec. 25, 1189 A.D. reveals that
Somesvara IV was continuing his sovereignty with the help of the
Kadamba Kamadeva.’ 0 This is the last known date of Somesvara IV.
Fall of Kalyani
The victory of Ballala over Brahma seems to have left him
master of the situation and the country, but the overwhelming suc-
cess was, not long after, eclipsed by another competitor, who was
also advancing towards Kalyani. The Yadava Bhillama came to
power in 1 183 A.D."' He was as ambitious as the Hoyasala Ballala
II and has been striving hard to gain territorial advantage out of this
political confusion. He was also advancing towards Kalyani.
Ballala after defeating the general Brahma, probably, captured
Kalyani, but immediately he had to face the opposition of the
Yadava Bhillama. Bhillama defeated the Hoyasala Ballala II and
deprived him of the territorial advantages he had gained. Kalyani
was also captured. An inscription dated 1189 A.D. records that
Bhillama “had become the beloved of the goddess of severeignty of
the Karnata country and was reigning over the whole kingdom.”" 2
48 EL, vol. VI, p. 92. Vs. 35-36. 49 EC., vol. XI, Cd. No. 33
50 Ibid., vol. VIII, Sb. No. 129.
51 EI., vol. Ill, p. 217; S.LE.A.R. t 1930, App. E, No* 108.
52 B.C., vol, I, pt. ii, pp. 518-19.
Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan 623
Hemadri also states that Bhillama “having attained the sovereignty
of Kalyani put to death the Hoyasala king.’”' Hemadri is defi-
nitely wrong in stating that the Hoyasala king was put to death as
it is known from various sources that Ballala continued the struggle
for a long time. But Hemadri makes it clear that Bhillama attained
the sovereignty of Kalyani from the hands of the Hoyasalas. Having
captured Kalyani Bhillama pushed on at the heels of the
Hoyasalas. They were compelled to vacate all the territory formerly
included in the Cajukya dominions. The Yadavas even entered the
Hoyasala dominions and a battle was fought between the two forces
at Alur in the Hassan district of the Mysore state.' 1 1 Bhillama car-
ried on his conquests vigorously and Hemadri states that Bhillama
having become master of the country north of the river Krsna
founded the city of Devagiri and crowned himself a king.' 1 ' 1 The
Gadag inscription dated June 23, 1191 A.D. also suggests that
Bhillama had his supremacy established' 1 * and he was residing at his
victorious camp at Heruru.
Turn of the tide
The events had moved with a dramatic rapidity. The Hoya-
salas had been for years past making constant struggle for supremacy.
They had fought against the Kadambas, Pandyas, Kalacuryas, and
the Calukyas. They were on the point of success, when suddenly
the Yadavas deprived them of all territorial advantages and they
were driven away almost to the south of the river Tungabhadra. It
seemed that the Yadavas had established their supremacy and for
about four years, no doubt, they maintained it, but after that the
tide again turned.
53 E.H.D., (Revised), p. 243, App. CL, Vs. 38-39.
54 Ibid.
55 M.A.S.R., 1926, No. 9, p. 41. 56 EL, vol. Ill, p. 219.
624
Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan
Battle of Soratur
The Hoyasala Ballala silently made preparations and organised
his forces for another conflict. He marched with his army towards
the north and the Hoyasala and the Yadava armies faced each other
on the battle-field of Soratur. The Yadava Bhillama arrayed a vast
horde of 200,000 foot soldiers armed with thunderbolts’ 7 and 12000
cavalry. at> After a ‘fierce’ and ‘bloody’ battle the Yadava army was
completely routed and annihilated. Bhillama himself fled away
from the battle-field with the remnants of his army. He was hotly
pursued by the Hoyasajas up to Belvola and the Krsna river with a
terrible massacre.’ 0 The V yavaharaganita, describing the battle,
records that out of the 12,000 cavalry of Bhillama “five parts fell into
the river, six fled away in all directions, four fell in the battle, four
returned back and Bhillama fled in confusion from the battle-field
with the remaining six hundred horsemen/’ 0 But as pointed out by
Mr. Venkatasubbiah, the testimony of the inscriptions and the
V yavaharaganita clearly show that Bhillama was not killed in this
battle as taken by almost all scholars. 1 ’ 1 The battle of Soratur was
fought before December 23, 1190 A.D., the date recorded in an
inscription which also states that “Ballala put them (Yadavas) to
flight and slaughtered them from Soratur to the banks of
Krsnaveni.” 62 Ballala having defeated Bhillama captured the forts
of Kurugod, Soratur, Erambarage (modern Yellburga in the
Nizam’s dominions), Gutti, in the Bellary district of the Madras
Presidency, Bellittige, Rattihalli, Hangal and Lokkigundi in the
57 EC., vol. XI, Dg. No. 25.
58 Ibid., Kannada Ms. No. A, 14, Govt. Oriental library, Madras, pp. 42-3,-
46; IHQ., vol. IV, pp. 126-7.
59 EC., vol. XI, Dg. No. 25; vol. V, Cn. No. 179.
60 /HQ., vol. IV, p. 127; Kannada Ms. No. A, 14, G.O. Lib. Madras, pp. 42-3,
4
6 v IHQ., vol. IV, p. 124.
62 EC., vol. XI, Dg. No. 25; IHQ., vol. IV, pp. 125-6.
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Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan 631
that any more fighting on that front was a mere waste of energy.
His family had made a hard struggle, but in 1215 A.D. they had
not an inch of that territory. TTns probably cannot be taken as the
only reason for the termination of this long-drawn and bitter
struggle.
A peep into the history of the southern India gives a more
definite and weighty cause. The Coja kingship had slowly begun
its decline. The Pandyas of Madura, their feudatories, had begun
to strengthen their position, while the king of Ceylon was waging
war with the Colas. Jatavarman Kulasekhara was followed by Mara-
varam Sundara Pandya in 1216 A.D. 106 and the Cola Kulottunga
was succeeded by his son Rajaraja III in the same year. 107 The
Pandyas had sufficiently strengthened their position by this time,
while Rajaraja III was an incapable ruler. As suggested by Mr.
Nilakantha Shastri, ‘old memories of help by Kulottunga to ,
Vikrama Pandya vanished away during the new reigns of Rajaraja III
and Sundara Pandya’ and according to “the law of life in those days
among Indian kings that he who could not be a hammer had to be *
an anvil,” 108 Sundara Pandya became hostile to the Cola *
Rajaraja III. Maravarnam Sundara Pandya had no obligatory
scruples towards the Cola Rajaraja III and immediately after his ac-
cession, he invaded the Cola country. Now began a bitter struggle
between the Colas and the Pandyas. The Cola empire had clearly
begun to show sings of disintegration. The Hoyasalas grafted the
situation rightly. The policy of expansion towards the north
met with an utter failure. The south now afforded a better and
lucrative field for expansion. The Colas were fighting a defensive
game against the Pandyas, who were very aggressive. If the Cojas
could be helped against the Pandyas some territory may be gained
106 K.A.N. Shastri — Pandyan Kingdom , p. 143; El., vol. VIII, App. II, p. 24;
S.l.E.A*R>< 1927, para 41.
107 EL, vol. VII, pp. 9, i74f. 108 Pandyan Kingdom , p. 146.
-632 Struggle for Supremacy in the Deccan
for this - and the Hoyasa}as immediately took . the side of the Cojas
and they now began their struggle in the south. The Yadava
Simhana also did not continue the struggle when the Yadava domi-
nions touched the river Tungabhadra. He had also better attractions
in the north. The Paramara kingdom of Malava and the Oaujukya
kingdom of Gujrat had merged into chaos and became weak. After
he had attained his objective in the south, Simhana turned towards
the north. The two combatants, the Hoyasajas and the Yadavas,
in this way began their struggle in different fields and closed their
struggle for supremacy in the Deccan.
Sant Lal Katare
Contributions to the Bhasa Question
It is a matter of regret that the evidences in Indological studies
are still so unreliable that the age of a certain piece de literature
cannot be placed even between centuries, still more regrettable is the
persistency with which the literary productions in India try to
camouflage the age of a specific work. The plays, ascribed in the
years of their discovery to the poet Bhasa, have been enquired into
from the linguistic, grammatical and literary points of view but
practically with no definite result. The opinion favoured mostly
is that Svapnavasavadatta and Yaugandharayana are works from the
pen of Bhasa, and these two dramas, as they are preserved, may be
regarded as adapted copies not deviating much from their originals.
While for the other plays there seems to exist no sufficient reason
to ascribe them to Bhasa. The main argument advanced againsi;
this assumption, consists in the agreements in style and language,
repetition of phrases and stanzas. The late Prof. Wintermtz tried
to show' the differences between the plays, the subject of which was
borrowed from the Mababharata with regard to their style, metrics,
literary merits, and general character. It seems, however, that also
these arguments are more or less the outcome of subjective reasoning.
Nobody will or can deny that the Urubhanga is superior in language,
using the kavya style, to the other one-act-plays, thus creating a gap
between the former and even plays like Balacarita, Pancaratra.
There exist some possibilities with regard to the claim of
originality and adaptation respectively. First, these plays believed
to be of high quality, like Y Sv., 0 ., are well written originals,
the other plays are not well written, but they are also originals.
i Bulletin of the Rama Varma Research Institute, V, 1937, iff.
' I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1938
27
634 Contributions to the Bhasa Question
Secondly, as for the hypothesis that the plays are adaptations and
compilations, it must be concluded that these supposed adapters and
compilers have in some cases maintained (Y., Sv., U.) the beauty
of the original, but not so in all cases; in other words, some plays
represent the originals fairly well, but not all. Thirdly, the plays
believed to be written by a poet of great literary merits are not
adapted, the other plays of less literary value are adapted versions,
and even the contrary is possible, the merits of the better plays
are due to able adapters. Thus the view, brought forward by
Dr. Sukthankar," that Y., and Sv. are by the same author while the
authorship of thfc rest of the dramas is still quite uncertain, is con-
tradicted by the same scholar’s list 1 of common passages, in verse
and prose, of longer and shorter extent. The explanation 2 * 4 that “the
coincidences in formal technique are almost certainly to be explained
as due to the activity of adapters” leads to the conclusion
that the plays, other than Y., and Sv., may represent originals in
some way adapted as Y., and Sv., and that becomes obvious if the
conspectus of common passages is arranged not only according to the
wording, but according to the relation between the single plays.
Not only in different plays occur common places, but also in the
very same play the wording is repeated verbatim in different places.
This feature seems to be in accordance with the assumption that
the plays are adaptations by some literateurs whose poetical wealth
might. have been not great and is responsible for these repetitions.
Then, of course, the originality of none of these plays can be main-
tained. To quote some instances :
Sv., 21, 6f. = 34, 5f.; 43, iof. = 58, 14^*
Dutav., 32, 5 = 34, 6f.
2 JBRAS., N.S. 1, 1925, 143. 3 ABORS., IV, 1923, 167s.
4 j&ras;, 1, 139.
5 Quotations for convenience according to the edttio princefs.
Contributions to the Bhasa Question 635
Pratim., 1 1 , if. = 12, i2f.; 67, 3 = 93, 2; 17, 1 = 102, 7;
12, 2f=i4, 2f.; 63, 17b =109, 2f.; 29, 16 = 31, 1.
Carud., 40, I2f. = 46, 13b
Pane., 9, 9 = 42, 20.
Abis., 13, 2 = 56, 6f. n, 9 = IV, 15.
One could object and explain these repetitions by pointing out
that they are merely stereotyped formulas originating from a given
situation. This argument, however, loses its weight in view of a
case like that in Pratim., 66, 8-1 1 = 1 10, 10-13, where a whole verse
is repeated, or, in view of 0., verses 41 and 62 :
3Tt: II
^qrsfq- g?T: 11
Still more the homogeneous wording becomes evident from a cons-
pectus of identical passages in two or more plays :
Avim., 45, if. Balac., 10, if.
Abhis., 27, 4f. 71, 1 5f. 0 ., 95, 18/96, 1. 99, i6f./ioo, 1.
no, 13 Dutav., 28, 4f. Karnabh., 72, 8f. Pratim., 91,
9-1 1. Pancar., 5, 9-1 1. Carud., 8, 1.
Abhis., 23, iof. Sv., 25, 9. 56, 5 ( S u k t h . , 38).'
Prat., 63, 15. 65, 15. 0 ., 99, 15. Sv., 1, 12. 2, 6. (46),
Sv., 66, 15. Abhis., 42, 16. (8).
Balac., 7, 7-10. Carud., 17, 8-10. (39).
Abhis., 6, 3. O., 103, 4. Prat., 17, 9. Balac., 6, 9. Sv,;
9 ’ 5 - ( 49 )-
Abhis., 30, 13. 59, 5. Pancar.,. 30, 5. 31, 22. 32, 1. Balac.,
38, i, nf. (29. 38a).
Abhis., 27, if. Pancar., 24, 8. (20).
6 The numbers in brackets refer to Dr. Sukthankar’s numbers in his “List of
Recurrences and Parallelisms” in ABORS., IV, xyofE.
6 3 6
Contributions to the Bhasa Question
Sv., 24, 5f. 28, 5. Avim., 105, 15. Pratim., 5, 2. 58, 1.
Abhis., 66, 5. Prat., 63, 3.
Dutav., 31, 18. Sv., 7, g.
Prat., 25, ig. Abhis., 43, 14. (60).
Abhis., 16, 11. Balac., 8, 2.
Avim., 54, 3. Sv., 56, 8. (40).
Abhis., 62, 3. U., 87, 14. 88, 13. (47).
Abhis., 54, i2f. Dutav., 30, 20 (cf. Balac., 22, 1 1).
Pancar., 3g, 12. Balac., 61, 7. (43).
Pratim., 42, i8f. Abhis., 3, 14b (124).
Pratim., 86, 6f. Abhis., 10, 1 if.
Pratim., 86, nf. Abhis., 10, 14.
Dutagh., 32, 4. Pratim., 58, 2f.
Abhis., 12, 4. 0 ., 1 14, 10. Pratim., 38, 14.
Pratim., 73, 3b Madhy., 25, 1-3. (45).
Abhis., 26, 3b Pratim., go, 8f. cf. Abhis., 52, 3L (31).
Dutagh., 6g, 8. Pratim., 20, 11. (56).
Prat., 62, 8f. Pratim., 25, 10. 86, 13L 113, gf.
Karnabh., 71, 14. 72, 2. Dutagh., 4g, 14. Pahcar., 23, g.
45, 3. Pratim., 60, 1 6-6 1 , 1.
Avim., 107, 5. U., g3, 3.
Carud., 8, .10. Sv., 64, 12. cf. 6g, 4. Avim., 83, if. (42),
Pancar., 48, g. Dutagh., 66, 1. Prat., 67, 8. 71, 14. (41).
Madhy., 12, 4. 13b Dutav., 32, 5. 36, 4b
Apart from the recurrences of verses or parts of them at the
end of the plays, 7 8 passages of the sthapana or stage directions, the
list shows that practically all the plays are interconnected by repe
titions” of the expressions of some length. Thus it seems unfound-
7 Sukthankar’s List, ABORI., IV, 1923, Nos. 1. ,2. 5. 6 . 17.
8 Ibid., No. 23. 9 Ibid., p. 179®.
Contributions to the Bhasa Question 637
ed to assert any difference between certain plays like Prat., and Sv.,
and the other plays.
A further argument raised against the authorship of Bhasa are
passages quoted in sources other than dramas of the same title as the
printed texts, but missing in the latter. It must, however, be stated
that prejudice or subjective reasoning may have influenced the deci-
sion. The materials 10 can be classified under these heads:
A references to Bhasa or works ascribed to Bhasa in the
printed texts
B quotations from his plays which are not found in the
published texts
C quotations which occur in the published texts
(a) without being ascribed to Bhasa or
(b) a play ascribed to Bhasa or a specific work.
D Uncertain allusions.
A. 1. A reference to Bhasa ascribed to Rajasekhara in the Sukti-
muktavali (1)
2. Kalidasa mentions Bhasa in Malavikagnimitra (3)
3. Features of Bhasa’s works are described in Harsacanta (3)
4. Bhasa is called a “friend of fire” in the Gaudavaha (10)
5. Bhasa is mentioned along with other poets like Urva,
Bharavi, Bhavabhuti in Somadeva’s Yasastilaka, IV (vol.
II, p. 1 13)
6. A reference to krida in Sv., in Abhinavagupta's Commentary
on Natyas., and to a nataka Sv., u (13)
10 Collected in C. R. Dev ad hars edition of the Bhasanatakacakra.
Plays ascribed, to Bhasa (Poona Oriental Series — No. 54), Poona 1937, Appendix C,
pp. 573-577 to the numbers of this list mention the numbers given above in brackets.
On the verses ascribed to Bhasa in Anthologies see App. D, pp. 578-580. These
verses are not considered here.
11 Ed. GOS. 36, p. 39, I, 106 (?), p. 87 respectively. For an explanation of
the word krida cf. a forthcoming paper of the late Prof. Wintcrnitz in the Woolner
Comm. Volume.
638 Contributions to the Bhasa Question
7. A reference to the artha- and kamasrngara in the Tikasarvasva
of Sarvananda. 12 (18)
8. The same reference, nearly verbatim, is found in the Nataka-
laksanaratnakosa (ed. Dillon, p. 1 17, lines 2826$.),
but Sv., is not mentioned there . (21)
9. An identical verse, occuring twice in Kaumudimahotsava, 15
II, 13 and V, 9, mentions the hero Avimaraka and the
heroine Kurangl, but refers perhaps only to the story, and
not to the play Avimaraka. (24)
10. Commentary on Sakuntala, attributed to the 14th century
A.D.," says that the Sutradhara in the play Carudatta uses
Prakrt, a fact found in the edition of this play. (25)
1 1. The Natyadarpana (p. 53) mentions a play Darida Carudatta.
B. 1. A verse quoted by Abhinavagupta from a work of the “great
poet Bhasa’’ in his Commentary on Natyasastra (ed. GOS.
No. 36) p. 320. The verse is defective in its first pada
and seems to refer to a play the plot of which is the abduc-
tion of Slta by Ravana; the verse contains the prediction
- of Rama’s revenge. Such a verse could have had its place
in Pratim., VI, 16 where Bharata is mobilizing all his
forces to help Rama as well as in Abhis., II, 15 where
Hanumat gets enraged against Ravana. 15 (11)
2. A passage, occurring in Abhinavagupta’s Commentary on
Natyasastra, p. 251, seems to quote a poet Hasa, for which
Bhasa has been proposed as an alternative reading by the
12 No edition of this Commentary on Amarakosa is at my disposal;
Devadhar quotes under No. 18 from p. 147, under No. 21 the same passage
from the Natakalaks v ~
13 Ed. Dakshina-Bharati Sanskrit Series, 4, Madras 1929.
14 IHQ., V, 1929, 726.
15 Less probable is the passage in Abhis., Ill, 21, as Hanumat here is addres-
sing Ravana directly.
Editor, 16 and a verse of his “in some nataka.” 17 This is
quite uncertain.
3. The verse, quoted by Abhinavagupta on Dhvanyaloka, III,
14, is not found in Sv., but could have stood before V, 7
in Sv. This verse shows some similar expressions :
niskraman, dvarapaksena, taditah correspond to the words
of the quoted verse : pravista, sancitapaksmakapatam naya -
nadvaram\ svarupatadanena udghatya . 1S (1
4. The verse mrteti etc. in Kavyadarsa, II, 230 and Bhojadeva’s
Sarasvatikanthabharana refers to a scene like that in Sv., V
where Udayana meets Vasavadatta, but it is not stated that
the verse is taken from Sv., though it would fit in the
episode. (14)
5. The verse quoted in Natyadarpana from Sv., (GOS. No. 48,
p. 84) is not found in the printed text, but fits in the sur-
roundings of Sv., IV. 10 Both silatala and sephalika-
blossoms have been mentioned in the dialogue between
Padmavati and her maid already, and by the Vidusaka
addressing king Udayana. 20 (22).
1 6 This reading has been accepted by P. V. Kan c, Pathak Comm. Vol., 394.
17 The verse runs:
18 The common picture to both the passages is the brdayagrba, not the door
of the samudragrhaka, as the late Ganapati Sastri explained in his Commentary; the
latter building had hardly any doors. For the beginning of the verse see F.W.
Thomas, JRAS., 1925, iooff.
19 See Sukthankar, JBRAS., N.S. I, 1925, 136F
20 A similar incident with the contrary conclusion is found in Sv., V, after
verse 3; when the Vidusaka observes that Padmavati must have been in the
samtidragrhaka and left, the king answers she cannot have been there and explains
the reason for this surmise by the verse V, 4:
WW fTTSRcTT
* flBS* ft 11
^ 4 ° Contributions to the Bhasa Question
6. In the Natakalaksanaratnakosa a verse is quoted (p. 41,
line 970/2) from Carudatta:
trfa ? fer?r: 1
$«nrsrfafari % ^r^rai' 1
The contents of this verse appear in the monologue of
Carudatta in the 9th Act of Mrcchak. in a more detailed
description of bad omens accompanying him on his way
to the court. The second of the verses there (IX, 1 1)
runs:
3n%nfirprersiTT 1
*rm 11
The words vayasa, animittam and mama arc found in
the preceding verse (IX, 10) in Mrcchak. :
^ srcra nniftfiraift f? 1
It is nowhere said that the verse belongs to Bhasa, but it
is quoted from a play Carudatta which, as the printed
text of this drama shows, is somehow connected with
Mrcchak. The contents of the verse have to be derived
from a general belief in omens like those in Brhatsamhita,
95 ( vayasaruta ) where verses as 2, 19, 38 express similar
views about the bad omen of a crow sitting on a dry
tree or facing the sun. The verse, however, points to
the conclusion that a play Carudatta existed, of which the
edited text would represent a torso only, as Sagaranandin
in other places refers to the Mrcchak. or to acts 5 and
8 of the same play under special names like Durdinanka
and Motakanka (p. 118, lines 2857 ff.; p. 130, lines
3122 if.; 3130 f.). But Bhasa is not mentioned as the
author. (23)
7. A verse quoted by Somadeva in his Yasastilaka, V (II, p. 251)
under the name of the mahakavi Bhasa is found in a
Contributions to the Bhasa Question 641
slightly different version in the Mattavilasa (p. 7, lines
3ff.). Whether this quotation, attributed to Bhasa, has
anything to do with the poet and does not merely range
with the alleged quotations of his in Anthologies cannot
be decided.
C. a 1. The verse in Prat., IV, 3 which occurs in Kaut., Arthas.,
X, 3, 150-32 and the last pada of which is quoted in
Vamana’ s Kavyal., V, 2, 28, might have been so famous
that it formed a common-place; neither the authorship of
Bhasa is stated nor is the source, while the Nayacandrika
(p. 1 80) ascribes the verse to a Manuniti (2 and 7)
2. The verse Balac., I, 15 and Carud., I, 19, quoted by Dandin,
Kavyad., II, 226 and found again in Mrcchak., I, 34,
seems to be of a general character and is so well known that
no author had to be stated. At least neither Bhasa nor a
play of his is mentioned in connection with this verse. (6)
3. In Bhojadeva’s Srngaraprakasa XII the scene is described
as found in Sv., V and takes place in the samudra-
grhaka. (16)
4. Vamana quotes without stating his source in Kavyal., V 1, 3
' a verse found in Carud., I, 2 in a slightly different version
which, however, is nearer to Carud., than to Mrcchak., I,
9.” (8)
3. Vamana quotes in the same work IV 3, 25 again without
indicating the author the verse found in Sv., IV, 7. (9)
6. Saradatanaya does not mention Bhasa in his quotation,
Bhavaprakasa, VIII (GOS. No. 45, p. 239), referring to
the incident in Sv., how the king recognizes a peculiar
ornament on Padmavati’s forehead which induces him to
21 Cf. Morgenstierne, Ueber das Verh. zwischen Carud. und
Mrchak., 12.
I.H.Q., SEPTEMBER, 1938
28
6^2
Contributions to the Bhasa Question
believe that Vasavadatta is still alive. The explanation
must be that only Vasavadatta could have done this orna-
ment, a similar scene is found in Kathasarits., III., 16, 3iff.
70. 101-103. This scene could have had its place in the
last scene of Act IV in Sv., where Udayana meets Padma-
vati; in IV, 5 the king agrees with Vasantaka’s words that
Vasavadatta is no more. (17)
7. In the Bhavaprakasa (p. 239) the author quotes from Sv., the
words: ehi Vasavadatte; kva kva yasi ? , a passage which
is not found in the printed text, though it corresponds to
the prose before Sv., V, 7: Vasavadatte, tistha tistha,
ha dhik. It is, therefore, possible that 5 aradatanaya has
not quoted verbatim; as both versions have eleven sylla-
bles, but that in Bhavaprakasa fits in the Sloka, it may be
that metri causa its author has changed the wording; or,
the quotation is taken from another source or version of
Sv., (17)
8. Sagaranandin quotes in the Natakalaksanaratnakosa (p. 51,
lines 1203 ff.) from Sv., the words of the Sutradhara after
he has heard behind the scene shoutings for help, in a
different, more detailed wording than found in the printed
text. (20)
C. b 1. Sagaranandin quotes from Sv., the verse VI, 3. (17)
2. The Commentary on Sakuntala 22 gives the contents of the
beginning of Carudatta where the Sutradhara on account
of the wish of the Nati who likes to have a meal after her
fast, looks for some Brahmana to invite him and seeing
Carudatta’s friend Maitreya approaches and invites him.
This is in accordance with the sthapana of the published
text; the Nati has undertaken a vow, called abhirupapati,
22 IHQ., V, 726.
Contributions to the Bhasa Question 643
and wants a Brahmana who is fit for a meal with people
like her, i.e. who is poor, to be invited. The Sutradhara
is looking for a poor Brahmana (dariddabahmana') and
meeting Maitreya invites him for dinner. His words :
nimantido si, amantanassa ma daridda tti mam avamannahi
are reflected in the Commentary’s amantrananimantranar-
tham, i.e., for addressing and invitation.
3. The same Commentary 2 ’ quotes the verse 2 from Dutagh.,
attributing it to the Sutradhara in the sthafana; the
author is not stated.
4. The Commentary 21 quotes the words of the Sutradhara from
Sv.
D. As uncertain allusions must be considered the following:
1. The verse in Bhamaha’s Kavyal., IV, 4off. seems to contain
a reminiscence of Prat. I, prose after verse 8, but no refer-
ence is given nor is it certain that the Sanskrit verse has
anything to do with the Prakrt prose-passage. (4)
2. The verse in Bhojadeva’s Sarasvatikanthabharana, V, 41 1 has
nothing to do with the plays ascribed to Bhasa. (15)
3. The reference in Sarvananda s Tikasarvasva (on Amarakosa,
p. 305) : kiinam bahuyugam iti Bhasakavih is in this form
not quite intelligible, as in Amarakosa kuna does not occur
and Bhasa could not have explained like a lexicographer a
word by a synonym, (iq)
The conclusions arrived at by these references are :
1. A poet Bhasa is known since Kalidasa (A. 1. 2. B.i [2 doubt-
ful]. 5. D. 3.)
2. His works are known since Bana (A. 3. 4), exfressis verbis
'ascribed to him is Svapnavasavadatta (B. 3)
3. Among the works which have befn published the title
23 IHQ., V, 727.
24 Ibidem.
644 Contributions to the Bhasa Question
of the following plays, without giving the name of the author,
are mentioned in the sources :
Sv., (A. 5. 6. 7 [ ? ] . B. 5. [see under] C. a [7,
8. b 1.4]
Caritd. (Daridra 0 ) (A. 9. 10. B. 6)
Diitagh., (C. b 3); cf. below.
Avimaraka and Kurangi may refer to a play
Avim. (A. 8).
Avim., is referred to along with the titles Pancar.,
and
Balac. 20 in the Commentary on Sakuntala,
without the author’s name.
4. Some verses are quoted which are not found in the printed
texts (B. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6, C. a 7, 8) but are not entiicly
out of place; a scene is referred to, also not found in the
present text of Sv., (C. a 6)
5. References to characteristics of the plays, contents, and quota-
tions of prose passages and verses are in agreement with the
respective passages in the printed (A. 5. 6. 7. C. a
3. 4. b 1. 2. 3. 4).
6. From the quotations in the Sakuntala-Commentary can be
concluded that there existed a play Carudatta which comprised
more acts than the printed text has preserved. (B. 6).
7. From the quotation in Natakalaksanaratnakosa is to be seen
that there existed a version of Sv., with a different sthapana
at least. (C. a 4 but cf. C. b 4). To a more extensive text
of Sv., point also the quotations not contained in the printed
2 5 IH Q > 7 2 5 -
a6 .There exists, however a play Balacarita dealing with the story of the
Ramayana, mentioned in Sahityadarpana, VI, 35; the same verse in N a taka-*
laksanafatnakosa, p. 26, lines 611-13, but further quotations p. 23?., lines 540 ff.; p. 32,
lines 751-53. ,
Contributions to the Bhasa Question 645
text, (B. 3. 4, 5., C. a 5. 7). Finally a scene missing in the
published version (C. a 6).
That the printed texts are not the only existing versions of the
plays is to be seen further from the statement in the Sakuntala-Com-
mentary (p. 726) according to which the Sutradhara appears in one-
act plays like Dutagh., without an antagonist like a nata, etc.,
but also in plays comprising more than a single act as in Kalyana-
saugandhika, 27 in Pancar., and this play is not considered to be a
nataka , 28 in Balacarita. The Commentary refers to the sthapana in
Balac., and Sv., and to Avimaraka, in the latter, however, the dia-
logue between the Sutradhara and Natl is called amukha , as in the
play T apatisamvarana, 29 which does not correspond to the printed
text. The circumstance that with two exceptions (B. 1.5) the author
Bhasa is not connected with the quotations or plays does not speak
against his authorship as the same attitude has been taken and
had to be asserted for other authors too, as the Commentary
on Sakuntala does not give the name of the author in connection
with his quotations, and so does the Natayalaksanaratnakosa too.
Lastly, the published texts cannot be taken as the only existing
versions.
It has to be borne in mind that the editions are based on
a few manuscripts and further finds of them may lead to more com-
plete texts. But even with the material at disposal it can bej shown
that the existing editions offer some verses missing in the editio
princeps. Thus Pancar., (ed. 1917). I contains 57 verses against 55
verses of the first edition (1912), verses 13 and 14 are new. In
Act II of the same play verse 57 reads in the 2nd edition yotra-
27 Cf. IHQ., V, 726, note 2, where reference is made to the edition of die
play by Dr. Barnett in BSOS.; Ill, 33ff. and to a (not yet published) re-edition by
Mr. V. Venkataram Sharma; this play, however, contains only a single act. This
points again to a different version of this play also !
28 It is- ia samavakara. 29 Published in TSS., XI.
(u f6 Contributions to the Bhasa Question
yitva against lulayitva of the first edition. Verse 72 of the 2nd
edition is new. Whether Prat., IV in the prose portion at
the beginning an -Arya is hidden, is doubtful; it would not change
the text. In Madhv., (ed. Devadhar) verse 50 is not found in the
previous editions :
srarf 11
It is doubtful whether this verse is necessary as its second line express-
es the same contents as the following prose : putracapalam ksantum
arhasi, and as uncertain is whether the verse, is not modelled in
accordance with the prose or vice-versa, though the prose fits closer
in with the admonition of Hidimba : abhivadehi pidaram . . .aham sa
...abhivadaye. Moreover, Ghatotkaca was under the conditions of
his meeting the father unable to salute him, still less in the manner
appropriate for a son towards a father; in the prose version, there-
fore, Ghatotkaca does not beg his father’s pardon for not having
saluted him, only for bis rashness, and now, at his mother’s admoni-
tion he salutes his father. This passage is too insignificant to allow
conclusions; nevertheless, it shows the incompleteness of the manu-
scripts, the unreliability of the editions, and gives some insight into
the relation of prose and verse, the fabrication of which was so easy.
Unsatisfactory as the result may be, in the present stage of
knowledge no more can be asserted. It seems, however, that there
exists a possibility to ascertain from the cultural data the standard of
life, religion, state organization, science, etc. By comparison with
the corresponding conditions in other sources which can be dated
definitely or approximately, an upper limit for the age of the plays,
an indication even of their genuineness — with regard to the
hypothesis of their adaptation in circles of actors — could be arrived at.
One of the most striking features in the plays is the pratima-
grha t after which the Pratimanataka got its name. The pratimagrha
is a temple-like special building, containing a central hall (garbha-
Contributions to the Bhasa Question 647
grha ). In this central hall there are nest pigeons, as to-day in the
Gopuras of South-Indian temples. The outer walls are marked with
pahcahgulas of whitewash mixed with sandal; the doors are festooned
with garlands of flowers, fresh sand is strewn on the floor, in front of
the building, flowers and fried grains before the entrance indicate an
oblation by pious hands. While other temples have as an external
sign emblems like weapons and banners, this building has nothing
of this kind. The statues within the hall are made of stone. A
devakulika is in charge of the pratimagrha, a priest. These statues
represent deceased kings, but of a king during his lifetime no statue
is made.
The custom to imprint the hand with five fingers spread
upwards is known from the Buddhist literature in Pali and “mixed
Sanskrit;” 1 " in Brahmanical literature the custom is mentioned in
Mrcchak., X, 4; Kadambari, 224; 16; the term occurs in Harsac.,
(ed. Fuehrer) 92, 2; 201, 3!.; Vasavadatta, (ed. Hall) 183, 3;'" in
Somadeva’s Yasastilaka, I, p. 49, 1; 490, 4; it is known from the
basement of a Stupa- and cahkrama- relief of Barhut. 12 New, as it
seems, is the cult of ancestors by erecting statues of them. The fact
that the statues are executed in stone refers to a time which cannot
be much earlier than the beginning of the Christian era. 1 ' In the
Nanaghat cave inscriptions the names of members of the Andhra
dynasty are mentioned above the position of heads of what were
30 Cf. PTS., Dictionary s.v. Part V, p. u and the material collected by
Vogel, Verslagen en Mededeelingen d. K. Akademie van Wetenschappen, Aft.
Letterkunde, R. V, D. 4, 1920, 2i8ff.
31 Sivarama’s Darpana gives the vernacular word cutaka and says at festivals
they paint the walls for atarpana .
32 Vogel 222f. and Plate.
33 Coomaraswamy, Gesch. d. ind. Kunst 47 refers to the wooden
image of Ketu mentioned in the Kharavela Inscription of the Hathigumpha as to
the earliest human image. No passage of this sense is found in the inscription,
as the corrected reading of line 11, against JBORS., VI, 155^ 337^^ has been
established by Sten K o n o w, Acta Or., I, 22 and accepted in Ep. Ind., XX, 79.
648 Contributions to the Bhasa Question
relievo figures now entirely destroyed, 3 ‘ of the king Simuka-
Satavahana Sirimat, of the queen Naganika, of king Siri-Satakani,
of prince Bhaga, of the prince Hakusiri, and of the prince Sata-
vahana. Here are no ancestors represented, as the father of the
queen Naganika, the maharathi Tranakayira is found among the
names, and contemporary personages, apart from the fact that these
figures are no statues and not erected in a special building. Histo-
rical personages, however, are represented in large statues found in
the mound Tokri Tila near the village Mat, nine miles north of
Mathura, the inscriptions on which disclose them as Kaniska; ” in
the inscription on the pedestal of the second statue of Vima who is
titled as maharaja rajatirajo Devaputro Kusanaputro Sahi V ema
Taksama, a bakanapati Huma...ksa mentions to have erected a
devakula, garden ( arama ), tank (puskarin ] ), and well ( udapana
Prof. Vogel has found the remains of the foundation walls and plinth
of a building made of large bricks; about the centre of the building
the main body of the statue, the head of which is missing, was dis-
covered. Near the seated statue of Vima the standing statue of
Kaniska was found inside the building. Close by, an inscribed
pedestal of another statue was recovered. This inscription’' mentions
that a bakanapati Saukra, son of the mahadandanayaka Masa, ordered
for the increase of the life and strength of the maharaja rajdtiraja
Devaputra Huviska, the devakula of the grand-father of Huviska to
be repaired which was in ruins. Lastly, in the same temple the statue
34 Liiders=List Nos. 1113-1118; Smith, ZDMG., 56, 653L quotes the
late Bhagavan Lai Indraji, JBRAS., XIII, 311, on the custom of Jains and
Nepalese Buddhists to have the figures of members of their families carved in their
temples known by the name of Salika. The order: father, mother, himself, wife,
brothers^ sons, etc., nearly agrees with the order in the Nanaghat inscriptions.
,35 Vogel, Verslagen en Meded., R. IV, D. 12, 1913, 272ft., recently La
sculpture de Mathura, 2 if., Pis. I-III.
36 ‘For the reading cf. AR., ASL, 1911/12, 120ft.; Vogel, Versl. 297;
Jayaswal, JBORS., VI, 1920, 12ft.
37 Daya Ram Sahni, JRAS., 1924, 401ft.
Contributions to the Bhdsa Question 649
of Castana has been found. 38 Thus the devakula of the Kusana
rulers seems to have contained statues of Vima, Kaniska, and
Huviska erected or repaired by a bakanapati , besides the statue of
Castana the identity of which has not been established as yet with
certainty. The term devakula appears in a Sarada inscription from
Hund' ,9a which record written in a barbaric Sanskrit mentions that
the queen Srikamesvaridevi has caused to be erected something
(satka) in a devakula; the name of the architect and of the scribe of
the inscription are given, further, the time within which the build-
ing was constructed (168-169, probably of the Harsa era, i.e. 774-775
A.D.), but no clue as for the character of the devakula itself is found
therein.
The Mora well inscription' 19 mentions the erection of the
pratima of five heroes ( panca virdndm pratima ) by a Bhagavat Vrsna
in the time of the Mahaksatrapa Rajuvula’s son, the name of which
is not preserved; these five viras are hardly ancestors of a ruling
dynasty."' Reliefs of tw© kings of the Pallava dynasty, of Mahen-
dravarman I and of his son Narasimhavarman Simhavisnu I, each of
these rulers accompanied by two queens, have been executed and
labelled with inscriptions in the rock-cut temple of Adivaraha-
Perumal at Mahabalipuram which may belong to the time of
Paramesvaravarman I, " i.e. end of the 7th century A.D. 12 Though
these kings are grand-father and father of Paramesvaravarman,
the reliefs cannot be called ancestor-statues as also their two queens
represented, as the reliefs are found, in a temple dedicated
to Visnu-Adivaraha. In the temple at Tiruvancikulam, a suburb of
38 Bcnoytosh Bhattacharyya, JBORS., VI, 1920, 51ft.
39a Edited by Rai Br. Daya Ram Sahni, Ep. lnd., XXII, 97!.
39 Vogel, Catalogue of the Archaeological Museum at Mathura, 184.
40 Sir John Marshall, JRAS., 1912, 120 believes this expression of heroes
to refer to the five Pandavas.
41 R.B. H. Krishna Sastri, Memoirs ASI„ No. 26, ^926.
42 See Ep., Ind., XIX, 112.
SEPTEMBER, 1 938
29
650 Contributions to the Bhasa Question
Cranganore the statue of Bhaskara Ravivarman is set up and
worshipped. 43 It has been objected that such a statue cannot
be compared with those of the pratimagrha , 4A This is true,
as there exists a difference within the locality, a Saiva temple,
containing the statue of one ruler and his consort, on one
hand, and a special building containing the statues of all male ances-
tors of the visiting prince, on the other hand. ' The custom to install
statues of deceased kings in temples is known from South India and
countries with Indian culture. Into the 17th century leads
the statue of king Tirumal (1623-1659), a Nayak of Madura, who
for the reception of the presiding deity of the place built the Vasanta
or Pudo Mandapa (New Hall) the erection of which took more than
twenty years (1623-1645). His statue is found in front of the great
(eastern) Gopura of the Sundaresvara temple, Madura. 45 The hall
has four rows of pillars, and at each side of the central corridor are five
pillars representing ten of the Nayak s dynasty; Tirumalla is dis-
tinguished by having a canopy above his statue and two figures at his
back, the figure at the left is his consort, a princess of Tanjore. 4l>
Thus it seems that in later times statues of kings, accompanied by
their consorts, and ancestors were erected in temples of deities. This
custom of erecting the statues in temples seems to be connected
with and based upon a conception according to which the deceased
43 A. K. Pisharoti and K. R. Pisharoti, BSOS., Ill, 108, n. 2. Cf.
■Mcnon, History of Kerala, I, 309.
44 T. Ganapati Sastri, ibid., 629L
45 Fergusson-Burgess, History of Indian Archit., I, 386!!. with plans
and a photograph of the building. For the reign of the Nayak see R. Sathyamatha
Aiyar, History of the Nayaks of Madura, Madras, 1924, noff.
46 Jouveau-Dubreuil, Archeologie du Sud de 1 ’ Inde (Annales du
Musee Guimet 26) I, 147#.; photograph of the entrance and interior of the
‘Tiromalla-choultri” PL XLVI, XLVII A, of the statues PL XLVII B. Sewell,
List of Antiquarian Remains in the Madras Presidency I, 292. — On horseback is
the figure of Aryanatha, the Madaliyar, the prominent general of Vifvanatha who
erected the thousand pillar Mandapa in the shrine dedicated to Sabhapari.
Contributions to the Bhasa Question 651
king becomes deified after his decease and identified with the deity
of the temple.
Such a custom can be traced in Kamboja from the 9th century
to the 1 2th century A.D/ 7 Not only deceased rulers, their ances-
tors, even living kings, erecting their own statues, were worshipped,
or their consorts, or nobles who had sacrificed their life for the king,
were honoured in this way; the identification of the royalty with the
god, kamrateh jagat ta rajya, the god is the kingship, led to the cult
of deification of the king in the form of idols, Lingas, statues of
Visnu, Buddha, and Bodhisattvas, according to the often tolerant
faith of the dynasty. Besides the temples of Bako and Lolei, the
Bayon in Ankor Thom represent Hindu deities, Buddha and tute-
lary deities the majority of which were deified men in two forms : as
portraits and as deities the names of which they had received posthu-
mously, thus forming a real gallery of historical portraits and
a national pantheon. 18 The same custom prevailed in Java for which
the best example is the statue of king Erlangga (10 10- 1042),
worshipped as Visnu at Belahan, erected in 1043 *" besides other
kings. 50 In Campa the kings associated their names with Lingas or
47 G. C oe d e s, Bulletin de la Commission archeologique de 1 ’ Indo-Chinc
1911, 38ff.; 1913, 89f.; B. R. Chatterji, Indian Cultural Influences in
Cambodia, Calcutta 1928, 93®., 243ft.
48 Coomaraswamy, l.c. 213F
49 Coomaraswamy, ibid., 209, Fig. 360.
50 Chatterji, l.c. 243. For the Javanese and Balanese custom of instal-
ling the image of a deceased king in a temple as a god of which the royal personage
was considered to be an incarnation, see Stutterheim, JAOS., 51, 1931, iff.
The author is not right in declaring (p. 4) “that in India there has never been
found any statue of a deceased king in the guise of a god which was worshipped.”
On the divinity of kings cf, Hopkins, ibid., 309s.
51 R. C. Majumdar, Champa (Punjab Oriental Series 16), Lahore 1927,
184 ff.
52 Ep., Ind., XIV, 283, lines 2of. Rachamalla I, in the time of Rachamalla II,
Saka 1103=1181 A.D* A Liriga was adored probably in the Bayon under the
the title of kamraten jagat ta raja or devaraja. On the Linga in this meaning cf.
652 Contributions to the Bhasa Question
gods, kings and nobles associated the names of their relatives with
the gods of temples founded by them, according to inscriptions
from the 5th to the 13th century A.D.; they identified or associated
themselves with the gods by adding their names to that of the god,
and also at times by making the image of the god resemble their
own/ 1 There are instances of identification of deceased rulers
with gods in India also, though statues of the king-god are not used,
but they occur in the form of Lingas/ 2 other instances are met in the
time of the Candella king Prthvideva, and two queens of the
Calukya king Vikramaditya II, Lokamahadevi and Trailokyamaha-
devi, installed images of Siva called Lokesvara and Trailokyesvara res-
pectively; the Rajatarangini furnishes instances where temples were
dedicated to gods named after their founder. '' 1 In the year 1274
king Narasihapati of Pagan finished the Mengala-dzedi (Mangala-
caitya) where besides holy relics, golden images of the disciples of
the Buddha, golden models of the holy places, golden images of the
king’s fifty-one predecessors in Pagan and of the king and his family
were deposited/ 1 The custom to instal Lingas of deceased Gurus
called according to their names in a gurv(v)ayatana perhaps with the
portraits of the deceased is testified by a Mathura inscription of the
year 380 A.D/"
Bosch, Tijdschrift voor Indischc Taal-, Land- cn Volkcnkunde uitg. d. hct K.
Bataviaasch Genootschap LXIV, 1924, 236ft., who establishes a trinity of ruler,
Linga and pric't the latter being the Purohita of the king and high-priest of the
devaraja in Kamboja; the author believes that the texts refer to an “original ’ Linga
in Southern India (p. 278ft.). M a j u m d a r, 186; Elliot, Hinduism and
Buddhism, III, 116; Ep. Ind., Ill, iff.
53 M a j u m d a r, 186; Elliot, Hinduism and Buddhism, III, 1 16; Ep. Ind.,
Ill, iff.
54 Marco Polo, 3rd. ed., by Y u 1 e - C o r d i c r, II, 1 14; for the date of the
king, the 13th century, cf. vol. III, 87L
55 Ep. Ind., XXI, 1 ff. Prof. D. R. Bhandarkar believes (pp. 4L) the
gurvayatana adverted to in the inscription to resemble the pratimagrha, but in the
latter are to be found statues of the ancestors, in the former portraits or Lingas only,
a carving of an ascetic, perhaps representing Lakulisa, is found on the pilaster, and
a trident; one would expect the portraits of the teachers mentioned in the inscription.
Contributions to the Bhasa Question 653
The fact should not be qverlooked that, though there exists a
similarity of ancestor-worship, the fratimagrha is a special building
with statues of deceased rulers, even if the mythological character has
to be taken into consideration. This institution of a special hall in
a temple without any identification of the ancestors with deities is
referred to in Haribhadra’s Neminahacariu/ 0 Prthivipala erected in
Vimala’s temple a Mandapa in which the statues of seven of his
ancestors were represented riding on elephants. The hall and the
elephants are still to be seen in the hathi khana or elephant room of
the Dilwara temple at Mount Abu; but there are only nine elephants
cf white marble, the figures of which have been explained to represent
Seth Vimala (who had built in 1031 the Vimala vasati under Bhima
1022-64), an< ^ ^ ls family going in procession to the temple; they
are destroyed and an equestrian statue of Vimala of stucco and
painted has been placed in the doorway. The names of nine of the
riders are carved on their seats, six are dated in 1 149, and three in
1180. Rana Kumbha (1433-68) erected, as Tod" relates, a citadel
on a peak of Abu, within the fortress of the ancient Pramara; in a
rude temple the bronze effigies of Kumbha and his father Mokal
(1397-1413) received divine honours. It is well known that in Raj-
putana States the chattris or “umbrellas” are erected, of kings, of
illustrious dead people and more specially of those who fell in battle.
Royal cemeteries, sometimes containing the statues of the deceased,
are set apart at one place, as at Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur; in
Bikaner the place containing the royal chuttris is called devtigndh
where statues of all the Bikaner rulers are found, from the fourth
downwards, being worshipped every day and food being offered to
56 H. Jacobi, Sanatkumaracaritam, ein Abschnitt aus Haribhadras
Neminathacaritam (Abhandl. d. Bayer. Akad. d. Wissensch., Philos.— philolog. u.
hist. Kl. XXXI, 4, 1921) Xlf. For a description of the temples see Fergusson-
Burgess, History, II, 36k
57 Tod, Annals (ed. Crooke, London 1920) I, 336.
Contributions to the Bhasa Question
654
them.” 8 But the pratimagrha is not a cemetery, nor are there
chattris. Statues of ancestors, however, are found at Mandor, the
former capital of Marwar, 5 miles north of Jodhpur, where, besides
some deities the ancestor-statues are cut out of the rock, but entirely
detached from it, with their horses, weapons, all painted.” 9 “Another
saloon, of similar architecture and still greater dimensions, adjoins
that just described; it is termed Taintis kula devata ra than , or ‘abode
of the (tutelary) divinities of the thirty-three races’ : in short, the
Pantheon of the Rajputs.” 60 In a cave in the ground where the
statues are installed, there is an altar sanctified by the name of Nahar
Rao; a Nai, or barber, performs worship to the manes of this Rajput,
while the ancestor-statues seem to be under the care of a priest.
The archaeological instances prove the existence of a custom to
erect statues of ancestors and sometimes of their worship. The
most fitting parallel to the -pratimagrha dates from the time of the
Kusanas, but the customs prevailed till Rajput times in a modified
way. 61 The literary references not so numerous are still not insigni-
ficant. To mention first a less important passage: in Dharma-
candra’s Malayasundarlkathoddhara, a Jaina work of the 14th
century, the story is told how king Satabala, instructed by the nun
58 Mm. Haraprasad Shastri, JBORS., V, 1919, 559; cf. T o d, Annals,
I, 325 on Raghudeva : “His image is on every hearth, and is daily
worshipped with the Penates. Twice in the year his altars receive public
homage from every Sesodia, from the Rana to the serf.” Further see II, 678 on the
worship of the ancestorial manes by the Rana in the cemetary at Ara (Udaipur), the
cenotaphs of which are described II, 912F
59 A description and reproductions of all the figures are given in Tod, Annals,
II, 842!!.
60 Tod, ibid., 844; this pantheon is more correctly called lefts karor devatan
st ban “the abode of the 330 millions of gods.”
61 The date of the Mandor statues seems to be unknown. — Newspapers brought
not long ago a notice that Sardar Chandroji Rao Angre who is in charge of the
Foreign and Political Portfolio, Gwalior intends to erect an imposing statue in
memory of his ancestor and founder of the Angre family, Kanoji Angre, on the
Kasa Rock, Bombay harbour,
Contributions to the Bhasa Question
6 55
Malayasundari comes to know that his father has attained mukti;
he orders a temple to be erected in the place where his father has
attained mukti, and an image of his father to be installed . 82 More
important is the passage in the drama Kundamala, Act I; Sita, who
after her return from Lanka is led into a forest on the Ganges by
Laksmana and informed that she has been exiled on account *of her
residence in Ravana’s palace, she asks her husband’s brother taking
leave from him to salute Ayodhya and to wait upon the king who is
embodied in a statue ( sussusidavvo patimagado maharao ). 6;> This
points to a statue of Dasaratha; Sita who did not know personally the
other ancestors had no reason to mention them, except her father-in-
law. It is curious that Bharata in the Pratim. is not acquainted with
the custom of erecting statues of the deceased rulers; the explanation
that he lived since his childhood in his uncle s house, (Act III), prac-
tically as an exile (Act VI, dialogue between Bharata and Kaikeyi),
is not quite convincing as the young prince could have learnt even
there something about the custom observed in his family; but from
the dramatic point of view the author of the play had to eliminate
such a knowledge of the prince whose surprise at his return is as
great as the reader’s impression of this scene. In Varahanuhira s
62 According to the German translation by H e r t e 1 , Indische Marchen, 267.
The devakula in Mrcchak. II, is an empty temple in which the Samvahaka tries to
pose as a pratima, an idol of a deity; Mathura and his partner discuss the question
whether the statue is of wood or of stone.
63 Ed. by Jai Chandra Shastri and translated by Veda Vyasa and S. D. Bhanot,
Lahore 1932, p. 36; cf. p. 10 of the translation and p. 14 of the Notes. In die
edition of the Dakshina-Bharati Series No. 2 by M. Ramakrishna Kavi and S. K.
Ramanatha Sastri p. 10. The date of the drama the author of which is supposed to
be Dinnaga, in the Mysore Ms., Dhiranaga in the Tanjore Ms., is dated by the
former Editors in the 5th century A.D. For a discussion on this passage which
indicates nothing more than stated above in the text, cf. ABORI., IX, 333L; X, 153;
157; XII, 97f; on the date Woolner, ibid,, XV, 236ft. ; S. K. De, XVI, 158.
The expression pratimagata is found in connection with the Ayodhyadevata which
were worshipped in the prescribed temples (prasastayatanarcitab) in Raghuv., XVII,
36. It would go too far to see in this passage a hint to the pratimagrha.
656 Contributions to the Bhasa Question
Brhats., 58, 3 the size of a statue (pratima ) of Rama is prescribed:
Dasarathatanayo Ramo balls ca Vairocanih satam vimsam i.e, the
statue of Dasaratha’s son Rama and that of Bali, Virocana’s son,
should be 120 ahgulas in height. Though Rama’s shrine has to be
built in the South-eastern corner of a Visnu temple, 04 thus indicat-
ing Rama as an incarnation of Visnu, there existed sculptures and
bronzes of Rama, of Sita, and of Laksmana. 6- ’ The identification of
Rama and Visnu caused the similarity of their representation. 00 The
Silpasastras do not mention the statues of Rama’s ancestors as they
are not understood as deities the abodes of which belong to the topics
of this discipline; the term pratimagara, pratimamandapa occurs in
Manasara, 34, 24, 27b a kind of pavilions, where the idol of a god is
to be installed. In 34, 24, however, this pavilion {pratimagaraf" is
mentioned as the fourth among seven pavilions to be erected in front
of a prasada, as the fifth the sthapanamandapa is prescribed which is
again a room for installing the idol of a deity. The pratimagrha of the
Pratim. appears not only to the returning of Bharata like a temple;
it is higher than a palace (Act III); the man in charge of it is called
devakulika who has to fulfil his duty ( naityaka ), consisting pro-
bably in daily offerings. The devakula is according to the Silpa-
sastra the private temple of the king (Samaranganas. 15, 45) to be
built in the North-eastern or South-western corner of the palace,
with high pillars and vedika (platform or balustrade?). In the palace
of the king representations of all the gods are permuted (34, 3), as in
devakula also (34, 1) only the god to which the ruler is devoted and
64 Gopinath Rao, Elements of Hindu Iconography, I, 191; Manasara, IX, 132.
65 Rao, I, i86ff.
66 Bhojadeva’s Samaranganasutradhara, 77, 40 (in 42 Bali is mentioned as in
Brhats.) prescribes Dasarathi Rama to be made with two or eight arms; cf. R*a o, I,
203.
67 The translation by P. K. Acharya (p. 340) takes pratimagara as a pavilion
“for the image (chapel).”
Contributions to the Bbasa Question 657
the kuladevata 18 can be represented (34, 21). The term devakula “*
used in the Mathura inscriptions proves that a building like the
pratimagrha could be called a temple, but the Silpasastra do not
know a special building with statues of ancestors.
Incomplete as this survey may be, it shows that the custom
to erect statues of ancestors, of historical personages, of rulers was
known in Northern India since the 3rd century A.D.; since the
5th century A.D. the custom is found in Campa, and later on in
other countries which were influenced by Indian culture. The
custom of erecting statues was prevalent in mediaeval India as well;
monuments and literary sources prove that the custom was not so
strange as it appears, though an exact date of the use of a pratima-
grha is not yet possible.
Another custom which occurs in the same play, in the Pratim.,
seems to be in some way surprising, it is the veiling of women of
high rank. Sita (Act I) is ordered by Rama when leaving the town
with her for his exile, to take off her veil ( avagunthana ), as Rama
puts it (verse 29): “He, he, you citizens! Listen! Listen!
“Gaze freely on this my wife with your eyes full of tears; for
without offence women can be looked at during a sacrifice, a
wedding,' 0 when in calamity and in the forest.
68 bhartrkuladevata are mentioned in Sakunt., V when Sakuntala appears be-
fore her husband, devakttlika occurs in the Mahavyutpatti, 186, 78.
69 D. R. Bhanofcarkar, Ep. Ind. XXI, 5 points out that there is a difference
between the Kusana's devakula and the pratimagrha as the former was a cluster of
devakulas commemorating the different Kusana rulers”; if one should be so rigorous
at all, though the statues seem to have stood on the same ground (see JBORS., VI,
53), their purpose was hardly different from that of the pratimas in the Pratim.
70 At the wedding ceremony the bride is covered with a new garment, cf.
Winternitz, Das altind. Hochzeitsrituell 45 and 47 (for modern times). With
the verse above may be compared Ram., VI, 114, 28;
5 T f.^5 !T Jjpfg «T •ft 3 T ^idtf I
In Ram. VI, in, 6if. Mandodari, Ravana’s first queen, lamenting in view of her
husband's body, mentions that she is not veiled and the other females have also put
off their veils with their shyness.
I.H.Q*, SEPTEMBER, 1938
3 °
658
Contributions to the Bhasa Question
The widowed queens of Dasaratha, when entering the pratima-
grha (Act III) and meeting Bharata there, put off their veils; the
prince reflects upon this gesture: “The presence (of yours, i.e.
Sumantra) at every conduct (of them) reveals you to me.” 71 The
use of veils by Indian women is known since the classical drama.
In Kalidasa’s Sakuntala, V, Sakuntala appears veiled before her hus-
band, king Dusyanta, who does not recognize her, even when
Gautami unveils her with the words: “Don’t be ashamed for a
moment!” Perhaps the veiling of Sakuntala serves the dramatical
purpose as the king, though admiring the beauty of his consort,
does not recognize her, neither the veiled nor the unveiled. In
Malavikagn., V, Malavika is veiled with a silken veil to give her
the position equal to that of a consort of the king ( deut ). An expla-
nation of the value of the veil offers the scene in Mrcchak., IV when
Vasantasena releases Madanika, giving her the status of a free
woman enabling her to enter matrimony with a Brahmana; her
becoming husband Sarvilaka says that the veil by which Madanika
is entitled to be looked at as a free woman, is difficult to obtain.
The same role is played by the veil at the end of the drama where
the king confers upon Vasantasena the title vadhu, i.e. lady, free
woman, and Sarvilaka veils her. While in Mrcchak., Vasantasena
gets the veil bestowed upon her by the king as an ornament of her
ladyship, she possesses a veil already in Act IV (beginning); may be
that this veil is used only for going out by a palanquin. Just so in
Carud., IV (ed. 1922, p. 89) the mother of the courtesan asks her
by a maid to put on the veil after having done her finery along with
the ornaments. On the ether hand, in this play Vasantasena pre-
sents her ornaments to Madanika, she calls her an ary a., neither the
courtesan nor Sajjalaka mentions the veil. Perhaps there existed veils
71 Woolner-Sarup translate (Thirteen Trivandrum Plays I, 177): “So intimate
on all occasions, that tells me something.’* Perhaps instead of mam sucayati should
he read : tvam.
Contributions to the Bhasa Question 659
of different kinds, one for private use, one bestowed upon a woman
of lower rank by the king electing her to the status of a free woman,
and one belonging to high class women by birth. The scene in
Ratnavali, III where Vasavadatta unveils herself, has no deciding
value. The avagunthana, worn over the garment, is mentioned in
Kadambari (ed. Peterson), 10, 20; not only the Candala girl, the cloth
of which may be used to cover her, the woman of good family uses
her veil when meeting secretly her lover (Sahityad. 3, 77 and verse
before). On the other hand, within the house or palace women
move freely, at least in the presence of the members of their family
or well known officials and friends. Vasavadatta, still a young
princess uses an open palanquin when she left with her nurse as there
is no offence for a maiden to be seen in public (Prat., III). When
Udayana meets her as his wife (Sv., VI), he sends her to the
abhyantara, the rooms for the queen (Prat., Act II end).
It would exceed the frame of these lines to give a comprehen-
sive picture of the cultural life as offered by the plays. But just such
an enquiry could bring some results as for the question of the
homogeneous character of the plays. To quote only one instance :
in Prat. Ill the palanquin is carried on shoulders by men; in Carud.
Vasantasena uses a palanquin on wheels (Act IV); it may be that
both kinds existed or that ladies of the court did not use the latter
kind of palanquins. The palace, town, the formulas of addressing,
law, art, literature and religion, all that needs a careful consideration
and comparison with corresponding sources. At least the discus-
sion on the age and authorship of the thirteen plays would be brought
in this way on a more objective ground than that on which it took
.place hitherto.
O. Stein
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CONTENTS
Page
Widow in Ancient India ... ... ... 66 1
By Dr. N. K. Datta, m.a., ph,d,
Saltpetre Industry of India ... ... ... 680
By Jagadish Narayan Sarkar, M.A.
Post-Vyasaraya Commentators ... ... ... 692
By B. N. Krishnamurti Sarma, m.a.
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By Prof. Dinesh Chandra Bhattacharyya, m.a.
Identification of some Ancient Indian Place-Names . . . 747
By Jitendra Nath Banerjea, m.a.
Raja Ramnarain ... ... ... ... 757
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Boundaries of Ancient Maharastra and Karnataka . . . 779
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Doctrine of Sarvastivada School of Buddhisni ... ... 799
By Dr. Nalinaksha Dutt, ph.d., d.lit.
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By Dr. D. C. Ganguly, m.a., ph.d,
Jahangir and Nurjahan ... ... ... 817
By Mohammad Yasin, m.a.
The Position of Mother in the Vedic Ritual ... ... 822
By Dr. Jatindra Bimal Chaudhuri, m.a., ph.d.
11
The Significance of the Vedic Rite Pumsavana ... 831
By Dr. Jatindra Bimal Chaudhuri, M.A., PH.D.
Three Ancient Indian Official Titles Explained ... ... 836
By Dr. U. N. Ghoshal, m.a., ph.d.
King Harsadeva of Nepal Inscription ... ... 841
By Bisweswar Chakravarti
Historical facts from three unnoticed verses of
Prthvirajavijaya ... ... ... ... 844
By Sarit Shekhar Majumdar, m.a.
Hayagriva ... ... ... ... 846
By Prof. S. Hanumantha Rao, M.A.
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Ista-siddhi ... ... ... ... 849
By Dr. S. K. De, m.a., d.lit.
Les Grammairiens Prakrits ... ... ... 850
Le Prakrtanusasana de Purusottama ... ... 850
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Paniniya-Siksa or the Siksa-Vedanga ... ... 855
By Narendra Chandra Vedantatirtha, M.A.
Some Archaeological Finds in the Idar State ... ... 856
By Dr. Niharranjan Ray, m.a.
The Greeks in Bactria and India ... ... ... 857
By Dr. U. N. Ghoshal, m.a., ph.d.
Brahman-Roman-Kathalik-Sambad ... ... 865
By Dr. Manomohan Ghosh, m.a., ph.d.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals ... ... 866
Bibliographical Notes ... ... ... 895
The Indian Historical Quarterly
Vol. XIV December, 1938 No. 4
Widow in Ancient India
Vidhava or widow is a woman whose husband is dead and who
has not married again. It is a very old word which can be traced
beyond the Vedic language to Indo-European origin, and exists
with little modifications in most of the languages of the Indo-
European family. Thus we get in Latin vidua, Italian vedova,
Spanish viuda, French veuve, old Slavonic vidova, Russian vdova ,
old German wituwa. Gothic widuwo, old English widewe and
widuwe, and Persian beva. In Latin the word viduus in the mas-
culine means bereft, widowed, and in Greek the correspond-
ing word q’l'Ofoc, eitheos, means an unmarried man.
Sanskrit grammarians derive the word vidhava from the base
dhava meaning a man or a husband. According to their derivation
a married woman whose husband is alive is sadhava. Curiously,
sadhava is a comparatively new word, which does not occur in the
whole Vedic literature. On the other hand, the word avidhava in
the sense of a woman not widowed was commonly used in Vedic
times. Again, the word dhava meaning a husband is not found in
the Vedic literature, and its first mention is met with in the
Nirukta; but even there the meaning given is a man and not a
husband, except by implication. In the Atharvaveda, Dhava is the
name of a tree mentioned together with, Plaksa, A'svattha and
Khadira. Thus we see that the word vidhava was neither in general
use, nor the basic word dhava was known, and that instead of using
662
Widow in Ancient India
a positive word like sadhava a double negative form like avidhava
was current. Then again, no word similar to the Sanskrit dbava in
the sense of a man or a husband is met with in any of the European
languages.
This naturally awakens a suspicion that the etymological
meaning given by Indian grammarians is not correct. Evidently
the vi of the word vidbava is not a prefix but part of the main root
word. It must therefore be derived from a root like Teutonic wid,
to lack, Latin videre, to separate, as in di-videre, and Sanskrit vidb,
to be bereft. When the true derivative meaning was lost in India, the
word dbava in the sense of a husband came into existence in the
Sanskrit language by a wrong splitting-up of the word vidbava.
Yaska is the first writer known to make a suggestion like that,
though he gives priority to the views of earlier grammarians who
derived it otherwise without reference to dbava. 1
The life of a Hindu widow is hard indeed. A widow, accord-
ing to the current Smrti works, is “either to mount the funeral pyre
with the dead body of her husband, or to lead the life of a brahma-
carini till death. — Like a brahmacarini, she must not indulge in the
luxuries of betel-chewing, oiling the body and using bell-metal
vessels for eating. She must take only one meal a day and never
twice, and must not lie on a couch, nor use scents. She should offer
daily oblations to her dead husband. She should observe some reli-
gious vow ( vrata ) in the months of Vaisakha and Kartika, and always
take ceremonial baths, make gifts and recite the name of Visnu.”
(Raghunandana, Suddbitattvam). “A widow should either enter
the fire with the dead body of her husband, or wear herself by
asceticism with the hair shorn.” ( Yama Samhita, II. 53).
Such rigid rules for a widow did not exist in the Vedic period.
No aversion is expressed anywhere in the Rgveda to the remarriage
mfeq yT I ( Nirukta , III. 15).
Widow in Ancient India 663
of widowed women. Indeed, the custom of a widow marrying the
brother of her deceased husband seemed to be common, and hence
the word devara , literally meaning second husband ( dvitiyo varah),
according to Yaska, came to denote a woman’s brother-in-law.
When the dead body was going to be burnt, the dead man’s brother
seized the hand of the widow lying beside and asked her to be his
wife. This custom is again referred to in X. 40. 2, where a widow is
said “to draw her husband’s brother in embrace in bed.” The Atbar -
vaveda (IX. 5. 27-28) declares that in case of the remarriage of a
woman she would rejoin that husband in the next world who
had offered the Pancaudanam oblation in this world. The Taittiriya
Samhita (VI. 6.4.) regards it undesirable for a woman to have two
husbands at the same time. This opinion is repeated in the Aitareya
Brabmana (III. 12), which states that “one woman cannot have
more than one husband at the same time.” This passage, accord-
ing to even later commentators like Mitramisra in the Viramitro-
daya, Adhivedana Prakarana , and Nilakantha in his commentary
on the Mababbarata, I. 195.29, indirectly recognises the marriage
of a woman a second time after the death of her husband. 3
Pointed reference to a chaotic state of society in the Vedic
period is made in the Mababbarata , Adiparva, 122, where the sage
Svetaketu, son of Uddalaka, is said to have for the first time laid
down the law of strict womanly chastity. Another story of lax
sexual morals is that of Dirghatama (Adiparva, 104), who was the
first to prohibit the marriage of widows by decreeing that “a
woman must remain faithful to, and dependent upon, one husband
only, alive or dead, and must not marry a second time.” These
stories may be fanciful but they are clearly reminiscent of a period,
2 X. 18. 8. See infra , p. 674.
3 Au. Br., hi. i2 — sots; 1
Mitratnisra— | Nilakantha—
Widow in Ancient India
66 4
that of the Vedic rsis, when for a woman to marry a second time
was not looked upon as unusual. That it was common for a woman
to marry her husband’s brother after his death is alluded to in the
Mahabbarata, Santiparva, ch. 72, v. 12: “As a woman marries
her brother-in-law after the death of her husband, so the brahmana
having failed to protect her, the earth made the ksatriya her hus-
band.” This passage finds repetition in Anusasanaparva, ch. 8,
v. 22, which proves that the sentiment underlying it was quite
familiar in those days.
One of the grounds of objection to the marrying of a widow
in modern times is the feeling of repugnance to taking for wife an
anyapurva, i.e. a woman who had been possessed by another per-
son. Thus Yajnavalkya (I. 52) advises a man to marry a woman
“that has as yet belonged to no man.” Yet in the age of the Epics
virginhood was not always regarded as an indispensable factor in
choosing a wife. Thus Krsna appropriated the pick of the harem
of the slain Naraka. Jayadratha wanted to make Draupadi “his
wife.” Trisanku took the wife of a Vidarbha prince killed by him
and had by her a son. King Rtuparna was eager to marry Dama-
yanti at her second svayamvara knowing her to be the wife of a
former husband. Satyavati was sought in marriage by king
Ugrayudha shortly after the death of her husband Santanu
.(Harivamsa, XX). Arjuna accepted as wife the widowed daughter
of Airavata, the Naga king, and had by her a son. It is not surpris-
ing that references to remarriage of women are meagre in the Epic
literature. The wonder is that after the successive expurgations and
revisions in the hands of later orthodox brahmanas so much evi-
dence of this custom has been allowed to survive. In later times
it was declared that “in the sacred texts which refer to marriage the
niyoga, or levirate, is nowhere mentioned, nor is the marriage of
widows prescribed in the rules concerning marriage.” (Manu, IX.
65). Those who believe this statement as an authoritative pro-
Widow in Ancient India 665
nouncement may be reminded of the fact that the practice of niyoga
was quite legal and common in the period referred to, and the two,
niyoga and marriage of widows, being bracketted together by
Manu, may lead to the supposition, apart from other evidences,
that one was as much in existence as the other, though brahmanical
opinion represented by puritan law-makers like Apastamba and
Manu was growing more and more pronounced against them.
At the end of the Vedic period the remarriage of women was
getting out of fashion and was spoken disapprovingly of even in the
earlier Dharmasastras. Thus Apastamba decrees that “if a man
unites with a woman who had been once married before, or belongs
to a different caste, they both commit a sin.” (II. 6.13.4). The
putting of widow-marriage in the same category with inter-caste
marriage by Apastamba shows that it was still in existence at the
time, though its total abolition was a thing to be devoutly wished.
Manu, too, indirectly recognises such marriage, for according to him
a son born of a remarried widow, pannarbhava, by a brahmana father
does not cease to be a brahmana, and is regarded only as much
degraded as a brahmana living by trade (III. 181). Gautama
(XXIX. 8) acknowledges its existence by admitting the right of the
son of a widow by her second husband to inherit one-fourth of his
father’s property in the absence of ordinary legitimate heirs.
According to Vasistha and Visnu, the son of a married widow by
her second husband is fourth in order of preference in the matter of
inheritance among the twelve kinds of sons, and is regarded as
better than an adopted son (XVII. 18; XV. 7).
Vasistha, one of the liberal of the law-givers, lays down :
“If a damsel has been abducted by force, and not wedded with sacred
texts, she may lawfully be given to another man; she is even like
a maiden. If a damsel at the death of her husband had been merely
wedded by the recitation of sacred texts, and if the marriage had not
been consummated, she may be married again (cf. Baudhayana,
666
Widow in Ancient India
IV. 1.17-18). The wife of a person gone abroad shall wait for five
years. After five years have passed, she may go to seek a husband.
In this manner (after the death of her husband) a wife of the
Brahmana caste who has issue shall wait five years and one who has
no issue, four years; a wife of the Ksatriya caste who has issue, five
years, and one who has no issue, three years; a wife of the Vaisya
caste who has issue, four years, and one who has no issue, three
years; a wife of the Sudra caste who has issue, three years, and one
who has no issue, one year. But while a member of her family is
living, she shall certainly not go to a stranger (for marrying)”
(ch. XVII). These rules show that not only widows but un-
widowed wives also could take second husbands and that the
marriage tie was dissoluble in certain circumstances. Divorce was
recognised by law in ancient India, the equivalent expression used
in Kautilya’s Arthasastra being moksa. Kautilya’s rules on the
subject will be discussed later on.
Cf. Narada, XII “When the husband is lost, or dead, or turned a recluse,
or impotent or an outcast, in these five kinds of distress a woman can take a
second husband. The Brahmana wife shall wait for eight years for her
husband who is gone abroad; if she has no issue she shall wait for four years,
after which period she may marry another. The Ksatriya woman having issue
shall wait for six years, and without issue, for three years. The Vaisya woman
who has issue, four years, and without issue, two years. The Sudra woman has
no rule for waiting. If it be heard that the husband is alive, the waiting period
should be twice as long. Such is the order of Prajapati. So in these circumstances
the remarriage of a woman is not an offence.” These rules are given also in the
Devala Smrti with little change of language.
It is further stated by Narada that “women have been created
for the sake of propagation, woman being the field, and man the
giver of the seed. The field must be given to him who has the
seed. He who has no seed is not entitled to possess the field,” and
that “when a woman after the death of her husband rejects her
brother-in-law or other kinsmen who have approached her (for
marrying), and goes to a stranger through lust, she is a wanton
woman.” Katyayana, too, follows Vasistha and Narada and
Widow in Ancient India
66 7
decrees that if the bridegroom be of different caste, an outcast,
impotent, of vicious occupation, of the same gotra, a Dasa, a cons-
tant invalid, the bride even married, should be given to another.”
(Quoted in Nirnayasindhu).
Thus it is seen that the well known verse
=5T i wwi Hr<Xnt qfcR^i) n
occurs not only in the law-book of Parasara (IV. 30) but also in
that of Narada. It is found also in some of the Puranas, such as
Garuda 107.28, and Agni 154.5. From the rules laid down by
Vasistha, Narada and Devala regarding the remarriage of a woman
with or without children in the case of a husband gone abroad, it
is clear that this verse was not meant only for girls betrothed and
not married, as is sought to be explained by more modern com-
mentators. There are reasons to believe that this verse occurred
formerly even in the law-book of Manu, as is noticed by Mitra-
misra in the Viramitrodaya, Adhivedana Prakarana } though it
has dropped out from the modern editions. When we see that
Manu enjoined a strict life of asceticism for widows and set his
face even against the long standing practice of niyoga as in ch. V. 157,
160-61, doubts may be expressed if the above-mentioned passage
permitting remarriage of women could find place in his book. But
such conflicting statements reflecting differences between ideals and
practices, or between past and present usages, are met with in many
of the law-books, including those of Manu and Parasara. Thus
Parasara in the verse immediately following the above-mentioned
passage states, “that woman, who when the husband is dead,
observes the vow of chastity, goes to heaven after death like a brah-
macarin. “This is almost similar to the verse 160 in Manu; V.
Even the waiting periods for the wives of husbands gone abroad
are stated by Manu, as by Vasistha and Narada, though it is not
clear what the wives are to do after the expiry of those periods
(IX. 76). The commentator Nandanacarya says that the impli-
668
Widow in Ancient India
cation is that they may take second husbands. The explanation is
that the law-givers of the period were trying to set up ideals and at
the same time had to acknowledge the existing usages. At a later
time when the practices of the higher castes became more and more
conformed to the ideals, the necessity of recording conflicting state-
ments disappeared and many of the anachronistic passages were ex-
purgated in the course of time.
Later commentators like Hemadri, Raghunandana and Kamala-
kara forbid entirely the practice of widow-marriage in modern times
on the strength of a passage quoted from Adi or Adityapurana
which gives a list of practices forbidden in the Kali age. Therein
also it is admitted that in ancient times the marriage of widows,
like niyoga and inter-caste marriage, was prevalent. The sup-
porters of the custom, on the other hand, quote a verse from the
Vyasa Samhita, which states that in case of a difference of opinion
between Sruti, Smrti and Purana, the authority is first of all Sruti
and then Smrti, Purana being the last (I. q). In this matter Vedic
texts supporting the custom must be given first consideration, pro-
hibition in the Smrtis notwithstanding. Then it is admitted that
of the Smrtis the Parasara Samhita is meant for the people of the
Kali age, Manu being of the Satya age, Gautama of Treta, and
Sankha and Likhita of Dvapara. (Parasara, I. 23). The text ap-
proving of remarriage of women under certain circumstances in the
Parasara Samhita cannot therefore be annulled for the Kali age by a
different text from any other Smrti, not to speak of a text from
a Purana, nay, an Upapurana. Moreover, as many of the practices-
banned by the Adityapurana are known to have currency in the
present Kali age, e.g., the Asvamedha sacrifice, life-long brahma-
carya, pilgrimage to distant places, ending one’s life by burning in
fire, acknowledgment of Putrika-putra, and sea-voyage, why should
the prohibition of remarriage of women given so much sanctity?
(Vidyasagara, Marriage of Hindu Widows.)
Widow in Ancient India
66 9
There are evidences other than those gleaned from the sacred
literatures to show that this custom of a second marriage for women
under certain circumstances existed in India even among the highest
castes about two thousand years ago. Vatsyayana admits its exist-
ence and sums up the attitude of the religious teachers towards this
custom when he states that “union with a woman of lower caste and
a twice-married woman is neither desirable nor forbidden (na sisto
na pratisiddhab )” — Kamasutra, I. 5. 3. Kautilya, however, lays down
elaborate rules stating the various circumstances in which a woman
can legally marry a second time at the death or during the life-time
of her first husband. “On the death of her husband a woman
wishing to lead a virtuous life shall at once receive not only her
endowment money and jewellery but also the balance of dowry due
to her. If she is desirous of a second marriage she shall be given on
the occasion of her marriage whatever her father-in-law or her
husband or both had given to her. If a widow marries any man
other than that selected by her father-in-law, she shall forfeit what-
ever had been given to her by her father-in-law and her husband....
If a husband is of bad character, or is long gone abroad, or is guilty
of high treason, or is dangerous to his wife, or has become outcast,
or has lost virility, he may be abandoned by his wife.... If the wife
of an absent husband lacks maintenance and is not taken care of by
the well-to-do kinsmen of her husband, she may remarry anyone
whom she likes and who is in a position to maintain her and save
her from misery.... Childless wives belonging to Sudra, Vaisya,
Ksatriya or Brahmana caste should wait for a year for their husbands
who have gone aboard for a short time. Wives with children
should wait in such cases for more than a year. If they are
provided with maintenance they should wait for twice the
length of that period. If they are not so provided, their
kinsmen should maintain them for four or eight years. Then
the kinsmen should leave them to marry after taking from
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
2
670 Widow in Ancient India
them what had been given to them at the time of marriage.
( Arthasastra , III 2-4).
Another evidence of the existence of this custom is supplied by
references in the Jataka literature. From the Asatarfipa Jataka we
learn that a king of Kosala killed the king of Kasi and made the
widowed queen, who was already a mother, his chief queen. A
similar story is related in the K unala Jataka. According to tradi-
tion as preserved in the introduction to the Candakinnara Jataka,
many princes were desirous of marrying the wife of Gautama
Buddha, who had already a son then, when he renounced his home
and became an ascetic. In the Uccbahga Jataka a woman prays for
the release of her brother, who along with her husband and son has
been sentenced to death, saying that of these three she can get a
new husband and a new son but never a new brother, whatever
she can do.
An interesting instance of the marrying of a widow by her
brother-in-law is known from the history of the Imperial Guptas.
Candragupta II Vikramaditya, son of Samudragupta, murdered his
elder brother Ramagupta and made the widow Dhruvadevi his chief
queen (Altekar, JBORS., 1928, pp. 223-253; 1929, pp. 134-141).
“The conduct of Candragupta in marrying her was thus not at all
opposed to the law laid down by the Smrti. If widow marriage and
marrying the wife of a dead elder brother had been prohibited by
the Dharmasastra, he would not have been able to perform the
ceremony and, above all, his son Kumaragupta I by that queen
would never have been allowed to succeed him to the throne.... But
when we find, as we do now, that no less a personage dian
Vikramaditya, who made the Gupta period a Golden Age in the
ancient history of India, himself marries a widow who was
again the wife of his elder brother killed by himself, it
cannot but shock the orthodox susceptibilities of most of us, how-
soever we may like to contemplate his learning and the patronage
Widow in Ancient India
671
he gave to Sanskrit literature. (Bhandarkar, ‘New Light on die
Early Gupta History,’ Malaviya Commemoration Volume, p. 203).
It is stated in the Rajatarahgini, IV 35-42 that king Durlabhaka
fell in love with the wife of a rich merchant, and that the latter gave
her up so that the king might marry her. The issues of this
marriage were Candrapida, Tarapida and Muktapida, who reigned
successively in Kashmir in the 8th century A.D. and under whom
the kingdom rose to the zenith of power and prosperity.
From Meruturiga’s Prabandhacintamani we learn that king
Viradhavala’s mother married her deceased sister’s husband though
her first husband was alive. Viradhavala lived for some time in
the house of his step-father before he became a ruler in Gujarat in
the 13th century A.D. His famous ministers were Tejahpala and
Vastupala, who were the sons of a twice-married woman by her
second husband, and who achieved great fame for their adminis-
trative qualities, learning and righteousness.
Tod’s Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan gives an account
of the marriage of Hamir, king of Mewar, with the widowed
daughter of Maldeo, governor of Chitor. Though Hamir was
ignorant of the fact at the time of marriage, it did not prevent the
issue Khaitsi from becoming the ruler of the proudest Rajput clan
on the death of his father without any difficulty in 1365 A.D.
It may be remarked that the hard ascetic life prescribed for
widows by later law-givers had not come into fashion before the
time of Manu. There is no such regulation in the whole Vedic
literature. One of the earliest Sutra-writers, Gautama, does not
make any mention of it. Baudhayana and Vasistha prescribe a
rigid life for widows for a short period only, and that also in the case
of those who seek children by niyoga. “A widow shall avoid
during a year the use of honey, meat, spirituous liquor and salt,
and sleep on the ground. Maudgalya declares that she shall do so
during six months. After the expiration of that time she may,
Widow in Ancient India
672
with the permission of her Gurus, bear a son to her brother-in-law,
in case she has no son” (Baudh., II. 2. 4. 7-9). “The widow of
a deceased person shall sleep on the ground during six months,
practising religious vows and abstain from pungent condiments
and salt. After the completion of six months she shall bathe
Then her father shall appoint her to raise issue to her deceased
husband” (Vas., XVII. 55-56). Manu is the first law-giver to
regard life-long asceticism as a desirable practice for widows. “Let
her rather emaciate her body by (living on) pure flowers, roots and
fruits; but she must never even mention the name of another man
after her husband has died. Till her death she should remain for-
bearing and restrained, and live the life of a brahmacarini. A
virtuous wife, who after the death of her husband remains chaste
and established in the life of brahmacarya, goes to heaven, though
she may have no son, as do the brahmacarins. A woman who from
a desire to have off-spring proves unfaithful to her dead husband
earns infamy in this world and loses her place with her husband
in heaven” (V. 157-161). Manu thus condemns niyoga, though
he could not entirely forbid it, as he states in another place, “A
woman without a child can raise a son by her brother-in-law or a
Sapinda, if duly appointed” (IX. 59). A life of rigid brahma-
carya for a widow being constantly praised by the later law-givers
after Manu, such as Yajnavalkya (I. 75), Parasara (IV. 31), Visnu
(XXXV. 14), etc., it gradually became in the course of centuries a
religious duty for her from which there was no exemption.
An alternative to such a hard life was self-immolation of a
widow on the funeral pyre of the dead husband. Many scholars
have expressed their disbelief in the existence of this dreadful custom
during the Vedic period. There is no direct reference to it in the
Vedic literature. The Grhya Sutras, which do not leave any im-
portant ceremony of domestic life untouched, are singularly silent
about it. While minutest details are given about the cremation
Widow in Ancient India
6 73
ceremony and the purificatory rites consequent upon bereavement,
no directions are given as to how Suttee is to be performed, or what
is to be done for a woman thus burnt, though such directions are
found in profusion in the later law-books. The authors of law-books
up to the time of Manu and Yanavalkya do not refer to it.
There however is one significant passage which indicates that the
performance of Suttee was gone through symbolically in the Vedic
period. It did not in ordinary cases have a tragic end, like the
practice of human sacrifice which though actually performed at
one time in some rites had, as we know, by the time of the
Yajurveda, the Satapatha and Taittiriya Brahmanas, become purely
emblematic. The Asvalayana Grhya Sutra (IV. 2) states, “After
sacrificial grass and a black antelope’s skin with the hair outside have
been spread out on the pile of fuel they place the dead body thereon.. . .
To the north of the body they place the wife of the deceased....
Her brother-in-law, being a representative of her husband, or a pupil
of her husband, or an aged servant, should cause her to rise from
that place with the verse, “Arise, O woman, to die world of living
(of the Rgveda)." There is no mention anywhere, either in the
Rgveda or in the Sutras, that this verse was addresssed to a pregnant
woman not entitled to immolate herself, as is explained by later com-
mentators supporting Suttee. Originally this verse was addressed
to the widowed woman only by her brother-in-law, who ordinarily
married or cohabited with her. In the course of time when widow-
marriage and niyoga had become objects of disapproval the recital
of the verse became meaningless, and so a substitute for the brother-
in-law might formally recite, “Arise, woman, thou art lying by
one whose life is gone; come to the world of living away from thy
husband, and become the wife of him who grasps thy hand and
woos thee as a lover.” ( Rgveda , X. 18. 8.). This verse occurs also
in the Atharvaveda (XVIII. 3. 2), and the meaning becomes clear
if the verse preceding it be studied along with it. “This
Widow in Ancient India
674
woman, choosing her husband’s world, lies down by thee that art
departed, O mortal, continuing to keep her ancient duty; to her
assign thou here progeny and property.” (XVIII. 3. 1). The
question is whether the woman who is described as lying by the
side of the dead body of her husband was actually burnt and made
to follow him to the other world. The above two verses indicate
that first of all the blessing of the dead man was invoked for pro-
geny (prajam ) and property to her in this world (iha) and then she
was led away from the funeral pyre by her wooing ( 'didhisu ) brother-
in-law to fulfil the blessing of the departed husband. The supporters
of the practice of Suttee, on the other hand, interpret iha as asmin
bhuloke janmantare (in this world on being born again), which is no
doubt a laboured explanation and is at variance with the meaning
of the verse following. It is referred to as dharmam furanam
in this verse, and was followed only to the extent of the
widow lying on the pile but not being burnt at the time when these
verses were composed.
Later commentators and law-givers quote a verse of the Rgveda
(X. 18. 7), which also occurs in the Atharvaveda (XII. 2. 31) and
Taittiriya Aranyaka (VI. 10. 2), as recommending the rite of Suttee
(vide Raghunandana’s Suddbitattva). Some of them seek to read
agneh (of fire) in place of agre (first), while others explain yonim to
mean ‘to fire’ instead of ‘to house’. The verse is as follows: 4
‘‘Let those women, who are not widowed, who have good husbands,
applying the collyrious butter to their eyes enter; without tears,
without disease, and full of ornaments, let these wives first enter
the house.” The question is to whom the verse was addressed,
is it to the recently widowed wives of the dead husband ready
to accompany him by entering into fire, or to the assembled young
4 sTTtfrfaprr. gwfrfafri *rf$n fasng 1
g*wr srr ds't srcqt qtfmm 11
Widow in Ancient India
675
women around ready to go back home from the cremation ground.
If it were addressed to die widow, as is done in the verse following, 5
why is the plural number used without any reason? That it is not
so is clearly understood from the Asvalayana Grhya Sutra, IV. 6.
11-12, which states, “The young women belonging to the house
should, with each hand separately, with their thumbs and fourth
fingers, with young Darbha blades, salve their eyes with butter and
throw the Darbha blades away, turning their faces away. The
priest should look at them, while they are salving themselves, with
the verse ‘Let these women, who are not widowed’.”
Yet we may believe that the custom of Suttee, inspite of the
general silence of the early Sutra-writers, persisted among certain
sections of the people, especially among the princely class (Zimmer,
Alt. Leb., 331). In many savage communities we find the exist-
ence of a custom of sacrificing wives and slaves at the time of burial
of a dead chieftain with the intention of securing to him the same
service and ministration in the other world as he had been used to
in this. “We read in Herodotus (V. 5) that amongst the Thracians
it was usual, after the death of a man, to find out who had been the
most beloved of his wives, and to sacrifice her upon his tomb.
Mela (II. 2) gives the same as the general custom of the Getae.
Herodotus (IV. 71) asserts a similar fact of the Scythians, and
Pausanius (IV. 2) of the Greeks, while our own Teutonic mytho-
logy is full of instances of the same feeling” (Max Muller, History
of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, p. 48). From the prevalence of this
custom among several branches of the Indo-Germanic race in Asia
and Europe, it may be presumed that, it existed in some form or
other among the early Indo- Aryans. With the advancement of
civilisation in the time of Rgveda, it was . regarded with dis-
5
jsraH sfaretai fa I
iww 4 vgt 11 < x - l8 - 8) -
Widow in Ancient India
676
approval, and the Brahmana sages of the time began to treat it as a
symbolical function and to discontinue the actual execution. The
practice, however, persisted to a certain extent among the princely
class, with whom it was sometimes a necessity in view of the miser-
able lot to which the wives of a slain chieftain were consigned by
the victor. Almost all the cases of Suttee recorded in the Epic and
Pauranic literature occurred in the families of kings and generals.
The Mahabbarata mentions two instances of Suttee, one of Madri
immolating herself on the funeral pyre of her husband Pandu and
another of the four wives of Vasudeva, including, Devaki, mother
of Krsna. But so rare was the custom even among the Ksatriyas
that no Suttee took place after the carnage of Kuruksetra in which
over a million combatants are said to have been killed and in which
almost all the princely families of India took part. The widowed
women of the Kuril family are seen duly performing the Sraddba
ceremonies after the cremation of the dead bodies (Striparva, 27). The
fragmentary Greek accounts regarding Suttee leave an impression
that it was a peculiar custom with certain military tribes of North-
Western India and not a general custom throughout the country in
the 4th century B.C. “A peculiar custom is mentioned as exist-
ing among the Kathaians — that the husband and wife choose each
other, and that the wives burn themselves along with their deceased
husbands.” (Diodoros XVII. 91). A similar notice of the custom
is made in connection with Taxila along with other ‘‘strange and
unusual customs.”
The first sanction of the custom by a Brahmana law-giver is to
be found in the Visnu Smrti which states that the duty of a woman
‘‘after the death of her husband is to observe brahmacarya or to
ascend the funeral/ pyre with him” (XXV. 14). Similarly the
Brhaspatisa mbita decrees, ‘‘A wife is considered half the body of her
husband, equally sharing the result of his good or wicked deeds;
whether she burns herself with him, or chooses to survive him lead-
Widow in Ancient India
677
ing a virtuous life, she promotes the welfare of her husband” (XXV.
xi). The reasons for Brahmana legislators gradually giving reli-
gious sanction to this horrible custom after the time of Manu and
Yajnavalkya are that probably they found it more difficult to pre-
vent moral lapses in widowed women after they had decreed the
abolition of widow-marriage and niyoga. The introduction of
Suttee is only a logical corollary to the total prohibition of widow-
marriage and the maintenance of a high standard of womanly
chastity. An additional factor was the great havoc and disruption
caused by the barbarian invasions led by the Sakas and Hunas in the
first six centuries of the Christian era. The princely families at least
were sometimes compelled to resort to this dreadful practice to save
the honour of their womenfolk from the hands of the victorious
barbarians. Moreover, it is likely that such a practice was prevalent
among the Scythians or Sakas, as has been mentioned before, and
that the attempts of the Brahmana legislators to establish Suttee in
the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. were helped as much by the cir-
cumstances of the time as by the continuance of this practice in the
families of those barbaric chiefs who were admitted into the rank
of Ksatriyas.
Yet it must be observed that the legalisation of this custom by
Brahmana writers was not effected without strong protests. The
poet Bana in the Kadambart regards it as “utterly fruitless. This is
a path followed by the illiterate, is a manifestation of infatuation, a
course of ignorance, an act of foolhardiness and shortsightedness, a
stumbling through stupidity, that life is put to an end when a
parent, brother, friend or husband is dead. Life should not be
ended if it does not leave itself. If it be properly considered, this
suicide has, indeed, a selfish object because it is intended to obviate
the unendurable sorrow of bereavement.” Medhatithi writes, ‘One
shall not die before the span of one’s life is run out’ 6 and condemns
6 3W5 f *r grip: spW# 1
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
3
Widow in Ancient India
678
Suttee as an act of suicide and not dharma (V. 157). It required a
good deal of explanation on the part of later commentators to refute
the argument of Medhatithi. Thus Madhavacarya in his commen-
tary on Parasarasambita states, “The Smrti text approving of the self-
immolation of a widow remains in force, otherwise it has no use. So
the Sruti text relating to suicide has indeed application everywhere
except in the case of women desirous of accompanying their husbands
to heaven.” Raghunandana, as has been mentioned before, follow-
ing Brabmapurana misinterprets the Vedic text ima nariravidhavab
to support the self-immolation of widows.
Widows are regarded as inauspicious sights whose presence is
disliked at any auspicious ceremony like marriage. This sentiment
is a very old one which can be traced to Vedic times. The repeat-
ed use of the word avidhava in connexion with such ceremonies, as
in Kausitaki Grbya Sutra, I. 11-12, indicates that widows were not
welcomed on such occasions. “Four or eight women who are not
widowed after having been regaled with wine and food are to dance
for four times on the night previous to the wedding ceremony.”
The association of wine and dancing with this part of the ceremony
probably became disagreeable to the more puritan taste of later
writers, and hence we find the substitution of unwidowed twice-
born women by Sudra widows for this function in the Sahkhayana
Grbya Samgraha . 7 When the bridegroom has arrived at the house
of the bride for marriage, “he is to be ushered into the hall by
7 That the drinking of intoxicating liquor was indulged in by Brahmana
women, not to speak of women of the lower varnas , as late as the seventh and
eight centuries A.D. in the central region of Aryavarta, is known from Kumarila
Bhatta’s Tantra-vartika, I. III. 4, which states, “Among the people of modern
days we find the Brahmana women of the countries of Ahicchatra and Mathura to
be addicted to drinking.” The reformer Kumarila condemns this practice in the
case of Brahmanas only, but not of Ksatriya and Vaisya men and women, if the liquor
was distilled from fruits or flowers (Madhvi), and molasses (Gaud!) and not from
grains (Sura).
Widow in Ancient India
679
young women of good luck who are not widowed” (avidhavah
subhaga yuvatyah). In Bengal at the present time the young
women who take part in the various rites in connexion with the
marriage ceremony are called eyo and suyo, which is nothing but a
corruption of the expression avidhava subhaga, and must not in-
clude widows, however closely related they may be to the bride or
the bridegroom . 8
N. K. Dutt
8 For a more detailed discussion of the marriage rules and of the causes of
the progressive deterioration of the position of women in India reference may be
made to the writers* Origin and Growth of Caste in India,
Saltpetre Industry of India
(in the iyth Century)
Speaking of the industrial organisation of India in the
seventeenth century, Moreland writes that “production was carried
on by artisans without superior capitalist direction,” and that the
“first lesson” which the foreign merchants had to learn “was the
need of provision in advance.” 1 These remarks apply well to the
saltpetre industry which was in the “artisan system of production.”
For saltpetre advances of money must be continually made
generally, from September to June; 2 and the supplies came dribbling
in all the year. Hence a permanent factory for dealing with the
artisans and storage and management of details was found necessary
by the Hugh factors in 1665 A.D. 3 4 5 Saltpetre also was so much in
demand 1 in England that there was a standing order from the
Company’s authorities there for an annual supply.'’ For procuring
saltpetre, the Company had its brokers, e.g. Benidas in Bijapur,
Venkata Brahman in Golkonda, Gurudas in Surat, and others.
The Bohras or peasant cultivators of Gujrat were famous for its
production and refining. 6 The Banjaras or itinerant dealers
occasionally used to bring it to Ahmedabad from the interior.
In 1656 the Surat authorities inquired from Anthony Smith at
Ahmedabad about the possibility of getting saltpetre from the
Banjaras. But owing to adverse administrative influences, like the
oppressions of the local Diwan and the officers of Murad Bakhsh,
the Banjaras gave up the trade and stopped bringing saltpetre to
1 Moreland, India at the death of Akbar , pp. 184-85.
2 Foster, English Factories in India , 1668-69, P* 3 ° 3 *
3 Ibid., 1(65-67, pp. 138-40; 1668-69, p. 146.
4 I have explained the reasons of this demand in JBORS ., 1937, pt. III.
5 FEF., 1(6567, pp. 173-74. 6 JBORS. , of. cit.
Saltpetre Industry of India 68 1
Ahmed abaci . So Anthony Smith held out to Surat no hope of
procuring it either then or in future (22 October, 1656)/
Saltpetre was a state monopoly, of which a reference is to be
found in the letter of the Surat factors dated March 15, 1636, which
says: “Saltpetre is a prohibited commodity, and hath allwaies in
all places paid some acknowledgment to the Governor of the place
where it was bought.” 7 8 Again, from the letter of the Ahmedabad
factors, dated December 7, 1646 we know that the seller had to pay
to the king a duty of 1 /4 %. 9 A new light is thrown on the nature
of this monopoly by a vaguely-worded imperial far man, referred to
in English factory correspondence dated about the middle of
December, 1646, that the English could take no more than what
was necessary for their “occasions”, and “none for their merchan-
dise.” 10 Owing to the existence of such a monopoly, the Surat fac-
tors were not very hopeful about the prospects of a supply of
saltpetre. They wrote to the Company (October 20, 1655) that the
king who had “made it his own commodity,” had “10,000 double
maunds of saltpetre, once refined, very full of salt,” costing (it was
reported) 67/ 8 rupees a md., lying ready at Ahmedabad, and that,
so long as any of this quantity was unsold, the English would not be
allowed to purchase any saltpetre ‘in this kingdome,’ or to procure
the stipulated amounts from the saltpetre manufacturers. 11 Towards
the end of 1655, Anthony Smith at Ahmedabad suffered much
trouble in the hands of the ‘petulant’ Diwan, Rymutt Ckawne
(Rahamat Khan) who was “almost mad” as he could not enforce the
monopoly by compelling the English or the Dutch to take the king’s
saltpetre. 12
State control was exercised in three ways; — (a) claim of purvey-
7 FEF., 1655-60, pp. 75-76, 162-63. 8 FEF., 1634-36, p. 182.
9 Ibid., 1646-50. pp. 57-59. Dealers in indigo and gumlac had also to pay
duty at the same rate.
10 Ibid., 63, 78-79. 11 Ibid., 1655-60, p. 15. 12 Ibid., pp. 17-18.
68z
Saltpetre Industry of India
ance or pre-emption, as shown in control of production, refinement
and purchase of saltpetre, either for military or non-military purposes,
(b) control of unlicensed purchase and transport, (c) occasional
revocation of provincial government’s orders.
The Government claim of purveyance or pre-emption in salt-
petre is clearly referred to in the letter of the Surat factors to the
Company, dated January i, 1 666: “Tis noe currant commodity,
nor requir’d by any except this king for his particular occasions,
forcing what he hath to be purposely provided; for which, although
he pay as much as we, yet the payment is not soe good. Besides it
is prohibited to all others to buy any and may lawfully be sur-
priz’d as the King’s commodity, whenever the King’s ministers
are inclin’d to trouble them, which they are not backward to doe
till they have forced them to compound, making their advantages
upon them.” 13 No reasonable objection could be taken to the
government claim of monopoly for its military needs. Thus in 1629
Shahjahan forbade saltpetre to be bought at Agra till he had been
supplied with 10,000 m'ds. of powder ordered to be made there. 11
Similarly, the necessities of the N. W. Frontier and Central Asiatic
wars (1647-48) led him to strictly inhibit the export of saltpetre and
his officers prohibited “boylingfor any but the King’s cirkar (‘ sarkar
government). 15 But as a result of it the producers were extremely
troubled and the Agra factors feared (1647) that they would not be
able to procure more than 1,200 mds. of saltpetre. 16
This sort of control was exercised not only by the emperor, but
also by the provincial governors for their own wars. In February
1656, the English factors at Agra feared that, owing to military
needs during the Mughal invasion of Golkonda, prince Aurangzeb
13 FEF., 1665-57, pp- 2 & 14 Ibid., 1624-29, p. 335.
15 Yule & Burnell, Hobson-Jobson, pp. 637-38. This refers to refining for
government purposes. 16 FEF., 1646-50, pp. 121-22, 203.
Saltpetre Industry of India 683
might capture saltpetre caravans going via Burhanpur, 17 and further
apprehended that the amount collected so far should be detained
neither at the place of manufacture nor at Agra, but removed to
Ibrahimabad near Biana, lest the imperial officers might seize it for
“theire masters occasions, as they have heretofore done. ” 18 Towards
the end of 1657, we read of Murad Bakhsh forcibly seizing from the
English the saltpetre, “provided by particular persons” at Ahmeda-
bad, probably for his military preparations for the War of Succession.
Hence the English factors at Surat thought it “unsafe to count upon
procuring any goods from Ahmedabad in time for despatch by the
next fleet.” 19 In the beginning of 1660, there is a reference in the
letter of the Company to the Madras Agent and Council to Shah
Shuja’s capturing saltpetre for his own use. 20
Government control was exercised also for non-military purposes.
In 1646 Aurangzeb, the then Governor of Gujrat, probably under
the influence of ulemas or theologians, prohibited the sale of saltpetre
to the English, lest gunpowder made from Indian saltpetre be used
against a Moslem power. The factors at Swally Marine wrote on
March 30, 1646, — “the Prince (very superstitious) possessed by some
of his churchmen that it is not lawful for him, to suffer us to export
that specie which peradventure may be employed against Moores,
he hath strictly inhibited its delivery unto us, notwithstanding it is
more than the moiety paid for.” 21 This was regarded as a somewhat
unusual and ‘unexpected impediment’ by the English factors. But
as Moreland has aptly pointed out, “Christians of the period could
have little right to object to his action in view of the fact that not
very long before the Portuguese supply of horses to Bijapur had
been challenged by ecclesiastics at Rome on precisely similar
17 FEF., 1655-60, pp. 63-64; Sarkar, Aurar>gzeb, p. 34.
18 Ibid., 16-55-60, op. cit.
19 Ibid,, 120-21; Sarkar, op. cit., vols. I & II. 20 FEF., op. cit., 397.
Ibid., 1646-50, p. 34; Moreland, Akbar to Aurangzeb, p. 122.
21
684 Saltpetre Industry of India
grounds.” 22 Moreover, it was nothing but a temporary obstruction,
as it disappeared with Aurangzeb’s transfer. Again, in 1689 at the
request of the Sunni Sultan of Turkey, Aurangzeb forbade the sale
of saltpetre to Christians, as it was often used against ‘good Muham-
madans’; and the English lost for a while their saltpetre trade at
Patna. 2J
Unlicensed purchase and transport of saltpetre by the English
or the Dutch were also forbidden by the Mughal State. In March
1628 the Agra factors wrote to Surat that both they and the Dutch
had troubles with the king “for buying and transporting saltpetre
without his authority;” that two English factors, Gregory Clement
and John Bangham, were imprisoned for a day arid a night in the
Agra castle; and that after making enquiries the emperor gave
license. 24 In 1646 also the caravan carts of the English Company
were detained. 20 In 1654 Shahjahan’s Diwan prohibited buying and
transporting saltpetre from Ahmedabad. 20 In December 1655 the
permission to send away the caravan of goods from Ahmedabad and
Agra was secured from the Diwan Rahamat Khan. 27
The royal fiat could at any time override local governor’s per-
mission to trade in saltpetre. In 1654, Murad Bakhsh as governor
of Ahmedabad had permitted the English to buy as much saltpetre
as they wanted. But when part of it was received and being re-
fined, the king’s Diwan sent an order prohibiting them from buying
or transporting any saltpetre from Gujrat, and the embargo could
not be removed. 2 *
The Mughal government occasionally farmed out the saltpetre
manufacture to particular persons, as for example, Mir Musa got
such a farm in Gujrat (1646). But the farmer had no right tp
grant dastaks or license.
22 Moreland, of. tit. 23 Wheeler, Early Records of British India, p. 162.
24 FEF., 1624-29, p. 270; p. xxx. 25 Ibid., 1646-50, pp. 57-59.
26 Ibid., 1651-54, pp. 299-300. 27 Ibid., 1655-60, pp. 17-18.
28 . Ibid., 1651-54, pp. 299-300.
Saltpetre Industry of India 685
Besides seizing saltpetre for local military needs, the provincial
governors and Diwans also endeavoured to establish their own mono-
polies in this article. During 1 660-6 1, the Diwan of Patna, Mirza
Lutfullah Beg, attempted to monopolise the sale of saltpetre for the
benefit of the imperial revenues. He forced the dealers, inspite of
their contracts with the Dutch, to deliver their saltpetre to him.
The Dutch, whose Director Matheus Van den Broek at Hugli com-
plained to Mir Jumla and to the English, alleged that these actions
were secretly instigated by the English factor at Patna, Chamber-
lain, and his broker, Ganga Ram, who had promised to purchase
saltpetre from the Diwan. The Agent of the English, Trevisa, dis-
claimed these allegations and agreed with the Dutch Director not
to deal with the Diwan and not to purchase saltpetre except as before,
directly from the dealers. Moreover as Mir Jumla sent a parwana
to Lutfullah, forbidding him to hinder the Dutch, who had assisted
the Governor m his operations against Bahadur Khan of Hijih, from
trading freely in saltpetre, it was expected that the Anglo-Dutch
dispute would be settled. But afterwards, Chamberlain was accused
of trying to buy saltpetre from the Diwan (who had scraped to-
gether about 10,000 mds. of poor quality), secretly in violation of
Trcvisa’s agreement. 29
Shaista Khan, as governor of Bengal (since December 1663),
also tried to monopolise the entire saltpetre trade in his own hands
and then to sell it to the English and the Dutch ‘at his own rates’,
as he knew that their ships could not “go from the Bay empty”.
In 1664, his darogha or agent came to Patna with a commission to
buy 20,000 mds. of saltpetre, and orders Co prohibit the Dutch and
the English from advancing any money to the manufacturers. He
prevented the English from weighing and receiving the stipulated
saltpetre from thern> and put his ‘seal on the several places of produc-
29 Batavia Dagh Register, 1661 (Letters, 29 January and 10 October) in FEF.,
1661-65, PP- 69-7 r-
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
4
686
Saltpetre Industry of India
tion’. So great was the oppression of the daroghas on the manu-
facturers and merchants that they used to run away daily, (without
fulfilling their contracts to the English Company) and so the
English factors held that the Nawab would not be able to procure
more than four to five thousand maunds that year. On the other
hand, Shaista Khan demanded of the English 20,000 mds. on the
pretence of “buying for the king” and of “carrying on the king’s
wars” (i.e. Arakan wars).
The nature of his monopoly can be realised from the letter of
Blake, at Hugli, to Surat (21 June, 1664). “ Upon our late
complaints, in reply (he) tells us positively that he will not suffer us
to weigh, buy or to bring downe any petre, unless we give him a writ-
ing enjagin (g) ourselves not to sell any goods or silver that out
ships may bring into this countrey unto any person but to him, and
the price must be what his agents thinke or make; and then doth
not say we shall have liberty to buy that commodity as formerly, but
that he will furnish us with it. The stop of said trade hath been
neere two months, being the only time to get in petre If your
worship doth not procure a remedy for these abuses from the King,
the trade of these parts will be quite lost. The Nabob is a person
most addicted to covetiousnesse, and it is verrily beleeved that he
wijl engross all goods in which he conceives a benefitt may be had
(he) demands English and Dutch men to serve him in said
warn, and doth expect to be furnished. So dishonnerable and cove-
tious a person never came into the parts for a governor.” 30
Monopolies of saltpetre existed also in the Golkonda and Bijapur
states. Thus the Golkonda state sought to control the production
and trade of saltpetre for military purposes. The letters of the
Masulipatam factors to Bengal dated July 16, 1666 and September
3> 1666 noted that owing to Aurangzeb’s wars with the Golkonda
30 FEF., 1661-65, pp. 394-97, 1665-67, pp. 134, 257.
Saltpetre Industry of India 687
king, the latter had monopolised all available saltpetre from the pro-
ducers, including a large part of what the English factors had con-
tracted for over two years and already secured. Besides, fresh sales
to others were also stopped. 31 Similarly the king of Bijapur claimed
a monopoly of saltpetre there and he farmed it out to any contractor
who offered a large sum. 32
The result of the government control on the organisation of
the saltpetre industry, as excercised in 1665-66, was as follows: —
(i) The manufacturers did not keep any saltpetre in stock before-
hand, and hence it took some time before raw saltpetre could be
produced and refined, (li) The manufacturers did not contract with
the English factors except on such terms as would cover their ex-
penses. (iii) -The English factors had to suffer troubles to clear the
saltpetre from the king’s ministers, (iv) There was a corresponding
rise in price of saltpetre.
The Surat authorities wrote to the Company on January 1,
1666, “...You may not expect any from hence but what will cost
you deare, especially the first yeare, untill all things be settled;
whereas afterward you may have it more reasonable, provided you
yearly enorder a quantity to be sent from these parts. Otherwise
‘twere better you lay downe the thoughts of it and thinks of some-
thing else for the kintlage of your ships.” 33
But the monopoly was at times evaded in actual working.
The producers and purchasers, who suffered on account of it, natur-
ally tried to get rid of its rigours; and the state officers also were
sometimes seduced by the lure of private gain. Thus in March
1628, with a ‘little judicious bribery’ and present to the royal minion
the English factors were released from prison, and were licensed to
purchase an additional quantity of 2000 mds. of saltpetre and their
31 FEF., 1665.67, pp. 245, 247. Possibly this might be a Mughal reply to
Golkonda’s help to Bijapur in 1665-66.
32 Ibid., 1651-54, p. 36; 1655-60, p. 375m 33 FEF., 1665-67, p. 28.
688 Saltpetre Industry of India
caravan was allowed to proceed. 31 Similarly in 1647, the Agra
factors hoped to procure saltpetre (in spite of monopoly) easily by
“corrupting with small bribes,” “were the time for the yeare fitt
for their action. 35 In 1648 also the Swally Marine factors hoped
to supply 300 or 400 bales of saltpetre “by the meanes of friends.” 36
In 1633, inspite of the imperial monopoly in Ahmedabad, Jesson
promised to send some quantity from Agra, while the Surat factors
hoped to smuggle away a small amount with the indigo. 37 In 1666,
inspite of government monopoly in Golkonda, the English factors
were sanguine of suddenly clearing their amount which had been
seized by the government. 38 But so long as that was not done,
and the required amount of about 200 tons not secured, the Masuli-
patam factors requested the Bengal factors to send them 100 tons
or more, ‘under cullour (colour) of some Moore, with all the secrecy
imaginable.’ 39 Occasional evasion of authority, was, however at
best, only a negative and immediate remedy. A positive and a
more permanent remedy was felt necessary and in Golkonda the
factors of the English Company tried to acquire a monopoly of
saltpetre trade; while in Bijapur, they tried to secure a partial exemp-
tion from customs on any saltpetre they might buy in future.
As the Bengal factors did not send down any saltpetre to
Masulipatam, and as that provided locally had been seized for the
use of the Golkonda state, the Company’s Masulipatam factors
were in a sad predicament (January 7, 1667). Their difficulties were
increased by the evil of the farming system in Golkonda, and the
consequent impediments to internal trade. They had already de-
34 FEF ., 1624-29; xxx. Foster suggests that the royal minion was Reza Baudcr.
Possibly he was Radia Bahador who murdered Shahjahan’s rivals. Ibid., 2400.
35 Ibid., 1646-50, pp. 121-22. 36 Ibid ., 203.
37 Ibid., 1655-60, p. 15. 38 Ibid., 1665-67, pp. 245, 247.
39 Ibid „ 1665-67, pp. 245, 247. This is an early example of clandestine
trade which became so rampant in Bengal in the mid- 1 8th century.
Saltpetre Industry of India 689
pute'd a man named Niclaes to Golkonda for two objects :
(i) first, to secure the release of the captured saltpetre, in
which he had been by then partially successful, and (ii) second, to
get a farman from the king of Golkonda, giving the English a mono-
poly of the trade in saltpetre. This seems to be the first attempt
of the E. I. Company to establish a monopoly in saltpetre. The
terms of Golkonda officials were as follows : (a) that the English
should pay 500 pagodas (or Rs. 1750) and deliver to Golkonda State
500 candies (or 10,000 mds.) of saltpetre within two months. 40
This quantity was due to the Golkonda king from some merchants
from whom the English could realise whatever possible. 41 (b) That
the English should supply the king with 500 candies (10,000 mds.)
each year, on payment of the cost. The Masulipatam factors, while
regarding these as ‘hard tcrmes’, considered that they would soon
compensate the outlay involved, for they expected to get saltpetre
20% cheaper than before and to procure it freely in future. 12 But
the E. I. Company’s authorities in England considered (January 24,
1668) these negotiations with the Golkonda government for mono-
poly of saltpetre “to be unwise” and expressed the hope to the Fort
St. George authorities that they had been abandoned. 43
In Bijapur the English E. I. Company’s factors attempted to
procure the remission of the duty on any saltpetre the English might
buy in future, by selling to the Bijapur authorities the Company’s
‘granadoes’, mortars and shells during Shivaji’s invasion of Bijapur
(1660). Already the Rajapur factors had suggested to the Company
towards the end of 1659, that they could lower the price of saltpetre
if there was a remission of customs. 41 When during his invasion
40 FEF., pp. 249, 253-55, 319-20. A pagoda is a South Indian coin generally
gold equivalent to Rs. 3}4., and the candy is a South Indian weight roughly
equal to 500 lbs. or 20 mds. Hobson-Jobson, pp. 498-502, 119.
41 Ibid., 1665-67, p. 255m 42 Ibid., pp. 253-55. 43 Ibid., 1668-69, p. 129.
44 FEF ., 1665-60. pp. 240-41.
690 Saltpetre Industry of India
of Bijapur, Shivaji was compelled to retire to Panala (March 2, 1660),
Revington, the Rajapur factor, quickly seized the opportunity of
offering to sell his mortars and shells to the Abyssinian Commander
of the Bijapur forces, Siddi Johar (Salabat Khan) for the reduction
of the fortress. As the latter gave a favourable reply, Revington
started on April 2, 1660 for his camp with one of the mortars and
a quantity of shells. 1 '' Moreover, on March 19, 1660 the Rajapur
factors informed the Surat authorities that they could sell the Com-
pany’s ‘granadoes’ to Rustam Zaman, governor of Rajapur, at a
‘great profit’ — not in cash, but by deduction of the price from
customs of Rajapur as the governor himself suggested."’ It was
rumoured that the king of Bijapur (Ali Adil Shah II) was much
displeased with the English for this action and intended “to remove
the English from all ports and entertain the Dutch,” and some
clothes and articles were despatched to the latter at Vengurla. But
the Rajapur factors did not believe that this would actually come to
pass (April 5). 47
This incident throws a lurid light on the political weakness of
the Bijapur government. It suggests that the king realised that
the action of the English factors was not in the best interests of the
state but that, at the same time, he had to agree to barter away a
portion of the state’s legitimate revenue for immediate military gains,
and so could not afford to adopt a strong attitude against the English.
By a letter dated April 23, 1660, the Rajapur factors agreed
with Revington’s suggestions about the sale of ‘granadoes’ in return
for remission of customs, on condition that the bargain or agreement
was “made authentic” by the Dowager-Queen’s sanction, which
would be necessary for the effective maintenance of right of the
English, in the event of (i) any change of government in Bijapur,
(ii) in case any enemies of the general Siddi Johar should in future
45 FEF., p. 370; Sarkar, Aurangzeb , 200. 46 Ibid., op tit., 366.
47 Ibid., 371.
Saltpetre Industry of India 691
maliciously allege that he had “abused his trust with those blanks
the Queen had given him her chop (chhap, seal) to.” or (iii) also in
case Shivaji became master of Bijapur, and might plead the same,
(though the latter held it to be unreasonable). Commenting on this
transaction, the Rajapur factors significantly remarked: “ The
putting off so dull a comodity here at present upon soe good termes
will doubtless prove a very acceptable peece of service to our honour-
able Employers. ” Great were the material gains of the English. If
the factors had sold the shells and mortars for ready money, they
would have got 35000 pagodas or Rs. 12,250. But since the E. I.
Company required 2,000 candies a year or 40,000 mds. it would
have to pay customs at the rate of 1 yj. pagoda per candy (or
Rs. 49/8 ^ or 20 m ds.) i.e. Rs. 12,250. So the advantage of the
transaction would be over in one year. But the method of sale, as
suggested here would mean no additional strain on the Bijapur
treasury and so financially welcome to that government; while to
the English it meant a source of great financial gain. The price of
the mortars and shells was perpetual remission of half the customs,
i.e. Rs. 6,125 (@ 7 /s pagoda per candy Rs. 4 9/ 16 per 20 mds. So
in two years the price could be met and the Company would thereby
save Rs. 6,125 ‘ n customs every year after the first two years. 18
After his escape from Panala, Shivaji plundered Rajapur, and
confined the English factors in the beginning of 1661, on the charge
of having assisted Siddi Johar w'ith mortars and shells against him-
self. The English factors proposed to open negotiations with
Shivaji, one of the clauses of which was that the English should be
allowed to buy saltpetre freely. 19
Jagadish Narayan Sarkar
48 FEF., 1655-60, p. 375.
49 Ibid., 1661..64, pp. 4-7. The above details show how the foreign companies
secured or attempted to secure political and economic advantages by participating
in political affairs in different parts of India.
Post- Vyasaraya Commentators
34. Kambalu Ramacandra Tirtha
(c. — 1627-30)
Ramacandra Tirtha was a distinguished Pontiff of the Vyasaraya
Matha (of Sosale) and the fifth in succession from Vyasaraya. He is
said to have belonged to the Kambalu group of Karnataka Brahmins
and is therefore known as Kambalu Ramacandra Tirtha. His an-
cestors are said to have come from the village of Kavilippalayam in
the Satyamangalam taluq of the Coimbatore district. His father’s
name is given as Kuppacar and that of his grandfather as Musthi-
parimita-Svarnamalalamkrta Venkatanarasimhacarya. He was the
eldest son of his father, and the descendants of his younger brother
Ramacandracarya 1 are still living.
DATE
(1) Ramacandra Tirtha tells us in one of the introductory
stanzas to his commentary on '.he NS., that he was a student of
Vijayindra Tirtha (1539-95)- —
Assuming that he was about thirty years old at the time of his
teacher’s demise, we may fix 1565 or thereabout as the probable date
of his birth. (2) In 1627 (Saka 1549) he received a copperplate grant
from Immadi Kempayya Gauda 2 . (3) Vidyadhisa Tirtha (1619-31)
i He too is said to have become a Sannyasin and succeeded his brother as
Pontiff of the Vyasaraya Mutt. He was presumably the same as Laksmivallabha
Tirtha, For my information re. the ancestry of Ramacandra Tirtha, I am indebted
to K. Vyasacar, Annamalai University (1934-8) and a descendant of Ramacandra
Tlrtha’s, family,
2 ; Ef. Car o Suppl. iii-iv.
Post-Vydsardya Commentators 693
o£ the Uttaradi Mutt, has a passage in his commentary on the NS 3
critising the interpretation adopted by Ramacandra 4 for a certain
passage in the original. These three facts enable us to place
Ramacandra between c. 1570-1630 and treat him as a close contem-
porary of Vidyadhlsa.
The successors of Vyasaraya seem to have followed closely, the
fortunes of the Vijayanagara empire. Ramacandra Tirtha lies buried
along with his Guru 3 ripati Tirtha, at Vellore, which was the
capital of Rama (deva) II (1616-30).
The outstanding event in the pontifical life of Ramacandra is
said to have been the (mass-) conversion to Madhvaism of a number
of Karnataka Brahmin families of his own native district. 5 This
conversion is said to have taken place at Pennattur at some distance
from Vellore, where Ramacandra was then staying for his
Cdturmdsya. The converts who seem to have adopted the name
of the village at which they were converted, for their group-name,,
still flourish in the Coimbatore district.
WORKS
Ramacandra’s works include (1) a lucid and instructive com-
mentary on the Nyayasudha (published at Dharwar) and (2) a gloss
on the Rg Bhasya-tika of Jaya-tirtha, the first two chapters of which
are preserved in MS. in the Mys. O. L. (B 122 and B 127). Of the
other works of this author, may be mentioned (3) a commentary on
the Aitareya Bhdsya' and another on the Tattvaviveka-ttka . 7
The gloss on the Rg Bhasya-Ttka is full of grammatical dis-
quisitions (see p. 108) and passages are quoted from the Mahd-
bhdsya > the Kdsikdvrtti, Unadi Sutras (p. 300), Kavikalfadruma (p.
3 Vide his Vakyartha Candrika , p. 268b (Dharwar).
4 Cf. Sudha-Tipfani of Ramacandra, p. 79 (Dharwar).
' 5 The conversion, it is said, was the outcome of a series of disputations at
which the leading Pandits of the district engaged Ramacandra Tirtha.
6 M. M. Sangha List.
7 Called Tatfaryadiptka t MS. Pejawar Mutt, 295 Ttilu, Palm leaf.
LH.Q,, DECEMBER, 1938
5
6 9 4
Post-V yasauya Commentators
335 ) an d the NS of Jayatirtha. The total number of granthas is
4000. In this as well as in his corny, on the NS 8 the author des-
cribes his Guru: Sripati Tirtha as “the grandson (spiritual) of
.Vyasaraya 9 . This is somewhat curious as Sripati, according to the
tables of the Vyasaraya Mutt, is the fourth in succession from
Vyasaraya. But his teacher: Laksmikanta Tirtha is believed to
have been a student of Vyasaraya, in which case the use of the term
“ 9 fer” may be justified.
The commentary on the NS too, is a learned work and it has
been quoted and criticised, as already pointed out, by Vidyadhisa.
One of Ramacandra’s pupils : Vativala Narasiniha son of Upendra
Bhatta, wrote a commentary on the Tattvaprakasika of Jayatirtha, of
which a fragment is preserved in the Madras O. L. (T. C. ii, ia.
R. No. 866).
35. Vidyadhisa Tirtha (1615-31).
The most celebrated pontiff of the Uttaradi Mutt, after
Raghuttama Tirtha, was his grand-disciple Vidyadhisa. The Mutt
lists place his pontifical rule between 1615-31. This is supported by
such evidences as could be gathered from his own works as well as
from external sources : —
(1) He criticises Appayya Diksita 10 and Vijayindra Tirtha"
in his commentary on the NS. He is therefore much later than
those two writers.
(2) His criticism extends also to Vijayindra’ s pupil Rama-
candra Tirtha, 12 who, as we have seen, figures in an inscription of
1627, and was evidently a close contemporary of Vidyadhisa.
8 As well as in the colophons to his works.
9 * "
fSTsW KP T-
(colophon to the com. on NS.)
10 Vakyartha Candrika, p. 236 (Cf. Madhvamata-vidbvamsana ). "*
11 Ibid „ where Vidyadhisa rejects the particular defence of die position of
Madhva attempted by Vijayindra, in his Madhvadhvakantakoddhara, as roundabout.
12 Op. cit> t p. 263 b.
Post-V yasaraya Commentators
695
(3) That this must have been so, is clear from the evidence
furnished by Kondubhatta, who in his Bhusanasara , claims that his
father Rangoji Bhatta defeated Vidyadhisa in a debate which took
place at the court of Venkatappa Nayaka of Keladi (1582-1629) 13
and obtained from the ruler, the honour of the present of a
palankeen, in token of his victory 11 : —
f^rr 6 ^f5^r 1 unrerc; 1
<r«rr
*r% ti
Rangojibhatta was the brother of Bhattoji Diksita 18 who com-
posed one of his works in 1635, and who was consistently opposed by
the famous Alamkarika Jagannatha Pandita, a protege of Dara
Shukoh who was in power between 1637-59. ^ ma y therefore be
conveniently assumed that Vidyadhisa’s encounter with Rangoji took
place about the year 1625 when he was about forty and his opponent
13 Ep. Car., vii, p. 43 (1902).
14 Vidyadhisa’s partisans (SIC., 1896, p. 36) on the other hand, claim the
victory for their side. There can be little doubt however that there was a meeting.
The subject of the disputation my have been either Grammar or Vedanta.
Vidyadhisa was a profound scholar in Vyakarana and Rangoji has left a work on
Advaita Vedanta, entitled Advaitacmtamani (S. S. Bhavan Texts). The S.K.,
further adds that the meeting took place at Venupura (Bidrur or Bednur) in the
Keladi territory.
15 As in Tanjore Ms. (T.P.L., X. 5837). The printed text in Benares Skt. Ser.
1900, p. 325, misreads. for The India Office Cat., pt. ii, p. 188 (No. 708)
reads |
16 This is also misread in the printed texts as %^| The Tanjore Ms. has
for the correct I
17 I. O. Cat. has more precisely: (no. 708).
18 ( Kondubhatta , BhUsanasara) Bhattoji can
be placed between 1600-50. Indian Culture, Jan. 1938, pp. 321-322 gives Bhattoji’s
date as 1575-1650 and Aufrecht (Cat Catal. , p. 395) points out that Bhattoji is
quoted by Vatsaraja who wrote in 1641 A.D. There can be no truth in the
tradition which makes him a contemporary and disciple of Appayya.
6 g 6 Post-V yasaraya Commentators
some years younger.. The Mutt list may therefore be accepted as
correct in placing Vidyadhisa’s pontifical rule between 1619-31.
LIFE
According to the S.K., Vidyadhisa belonged to the Pandu-
rarigi family and bore the name of Narasimhacarya. His father’s
name is given as Anandabhattaraka 19 ( S.K. , 1896, p. 81). He had
two brothers, of whom the elder was Srinivasa and the younger
Kesavacarya, (pp. 81, 96 S.K .y He was probably a native of
Pandharpur and a contemporary of the celebated Raghavendra
Svamin whose commentary on the NS. ( Parimala ) was highly com-
mended by him. But no reference to the Parimala is to be found in
Vidyadhisa’s own commentary on the NS. He professes very great
respect for Vyasaraya and quotes often from his Candrika 2 ® and
Nym. He seems to have taught many disciples, the most promi-
nent of whom 21 was Kesavacarya, who completed his master’s
commentary on the NS.
The one outstanding event in Vidyadhisa’s regime was the
mass-conversion 22 of the Hindi-speaknig Brahmins of Gaya (Gaya-
palas or Gaya-walas) from the faith of Sankara, to that of Madhva. 23
The Gayapalas have ever since remained staunch followers of
Madhva, owing allegiance to the Uttaradi Mutt.
19 Presumably the same as wrote the Nym-Kantakoddbara now published in
the Calcutta Skt. Ser. IX. See ante under Ramacarya. „ ^
20 The Candrika is declared to have been his forte by Kesava: —
firargs’ 55135’ ^ 1 % tr % srstsu 11
(Candika Prakasa, introd. verse 7).
21 Timmannacarya (Tanjore O.L. XIV, no. 7352) author of Candrikodahrtar
nyayavivaranam was another. A third one was Narasimha Yati who wrote
Khandarthas on the Ait. A . (ii-iii) (T.P.L. Ill, 1590); Taitt. Up. (T.P.L. 1591) and
Mundaka (T.P.L. III. 1673).
22 Like the other one in S. India at the time of Ramacandra Tirtha.
23 Satkatba, 1896, p. 36.
The Vidyadhtsa-vijaya 2i of Janardana Suri professes to des-
cribe in detail the life and exploits of the teacher. The author
claims to have been a contemporary of Vidyadhisa’s successor
Vidyanidhi Tirtha (1631-5). It is however very unreliable and
does not appear to have been a contemporary work as it makes
Vidyadhisa meet and vanquish in a debate Vadindra Tirtha (1728-
43) of the Raghavendra Svami Mutt. 23
WORKS
Some ten works are attributed to Vidyadhisa the most
important of which is his gloss on the first five adhikaranas of the
NS. (2) His commentary on the Pramanalaksana-tika of Jayatirtha,
in 32 granthas, has been published from Dharwar. 26 His commen-
taries on (3) the VTN-tika , 27 and (4) the KL-tika 2H and (5) the Talava-
kara bhasya 29 are yet to be attested by Mss. The same is the case
with his (6) Dvitvavadartha (a tract devoted evidently to a discussion
of the concept of duality). His other minor works are (7) the Janma-
stamt-nirnaya and (8) Visnupancaka(vratd)-nirnaya. His ( cftTithi -
trayanirnaya is noticed in Bhandarkar’s Rep. 1882. In Madras T.C.
II. pt. i, b. no. 1432, in Omkaravadartha 10 is attributed to him.
Vidyadhisa’s commentary on the NS. is a critical and scholarly
exposition of the original. The way in which the author has ac-
complished his task, makes one wish that he had completed his
labour of love. It was however left to his disciple Kesavacarya to
do so, in a manner worthy of his Guru. Vidyadhisa quotes from
24 Poona, 1926.
cFT^ 47-48). Vide his own commentary:
f terernr qfa: (p- 66)-
26 Karnataka Press, Dharwar, 27 S.K., p. 55.
28 M. M. Sahgha List. 29 G. V. L, Cat.
30 Similar to the Pranava-darpana-kbandana of Vijayindra Tirtha.
698 Post-Vyasaraya Commentators
the Nayavitbi 31 (pp. 146-7), the Takkura (p. 149b), the Vivarna
and. other standard works of the various systems of philosophy.
Replying to the criticism of Appayya Diksita, that Madhva and his
commentators have misunderstood and misinterpreted the Mimam-
saka attitude with reference to 'TTsprifc in “Arunaya ”,
Vidyadhisa says that the viewpoint referred to by Madhva and his
commentator is actually to be found in certain Mimamsaka works 32
(we are not told in which particular one, it is so) and in this con-
nection rejects the particular defence of Madhva put up by
Vijayindra Tirtha in his Madhvadhvakantakoddbara, as being
round about . 33
36 Kesavacarya (c. 1605-60)
Kesava was the favourite disciple 31 and according to the S.K.,
the younger brother of Vidyadhisa (p. 81, 1896). In addition to
Vidyadhisa, Kesava refers to two other teachers of his: Ananda-
bhattaraka (ver. 10, of his com. on NS.) and Srinivasa 3 ' 1 who scored
several victories over the Mayavadins (ver. 11). These, according to
the S.K.j were his father and elder brother respectively.
31 Which is another name for the fourth chapter of the Prakaranapancikii
of Salikanatha.
*rw^^si4t3r«R*rra: 1 %
tor, to
tor ; 11
It (P- 236). With this cf. Madhvadhva-
kantakoddhara.
34 1
^rrfnw 4sdf*r 1
(Verses 12-14, °f his com. on NS).
35 To him are ascribed in the G. V. L. Cat., (1) a com. on the T.P. and
(2) another on the NS. of Jayatirtha, (p. 125).
6 99
Post-Vyasaraya Commentators
Kesava expresses regard for his teacher Vidyadhisa whom he
doubts as an incarnation of Vyasaraya. 30 He also applies to him
the epithet “Guru-raja ”, and his own works are sometimes
for this reason, designated “Guru-rajiya” 37 — an appellation which
has led to some confusion between him and Vadiraja Svamin, 38 who
is also at times referred to as “Guru-raja.”
Sixteen works are attributed to Kesava in tfhe catalogue
of the G. V. L. (Kumbakonam, p. 109). These include commen-
taries (glosses) on the Ten Prakaranas. In the Mys. O. L. have
been preserved Mss. of his glosses on (1) the Tattvodyotatikd (A-
388) in 2000 granthas; (2) the VTN-tika (C. 2329) and (3) TS
(4334). The G. V. L. Cat. also attributes to him two commentaries
on the Candrika (one short and the other long), (6) a com. called
Vdkydrthamanjart on the NS. in addition to his Sesavakyartha-
candrika on the NS. to be mentioned anon, and glosses on (7) the
Prameyadipikd; (8) TP. and the (9) Rgbhasyattka of Jayatirtha.
Kesava’s com. on the Tatparyacandrika of Vyasaraya has been
published along with that of Raghavendra Svamin, from Bombay.
The original name of the com. is Prakasa ; 33 but, it is generally desig-
nated “Gururajiya” to distinguish it from that of Raghavendra
bearing an identical name. 10 The former is much less diffuse than
the latter. It runs to 6000 granthas and the printed text covers tfhe
I Adhyaya alone of the Candrika.
ft * ft ? ( Introd - vcrse in com ' on NS) -
37 Vide remarks" on T.P.L. XIV. no. 7849 (p. 6081).
38 The Gururajiya” attributed to Vadiraja on p. 316, of the Vi). Sex. Com.
Vol . , is an instance in point.
39 ^fore ra n srerertss i ( Ver - 8 )-
40 Cf. fo s reg ( TP-Bhavadipa , Bombay p. 39). The Mysore
Govt. Edn. of the Candrika does not include the Prakasa of Kesava, as wrongly
stated by the Editor on p. 6029 of the Des. Cat. of the T.P.L. (vol. XIV).
700 Post-V yasaraya Commentators
Besides displaying his acquaintance with the Vyakarana (pp.
11-13) and Mimamsa (pp. 77-8; 21-22) systems, the author quotes
from the Prakriyakaumudt of Ramacandra (p. 122, lines 5-9) and
the commentary of Visvakarma thereon (lines 9-10), as well as from
the U pasamharavijaya of Vijayindra Tirtha. 41
His Sesavakyarthacandrika is a continuation of Vidyadhisa’s
commentary on the NS., from the sixth adhikarana onwards of the
AV. The commentary has been published (together with the NS.)
from Dharwar. The author has made free use of earlier commen-
taries 42 on the NS., especially that of Yadupati, which he does not
always acknowledge. 43 He exhibits a thorough knowledge of
Grammar, Logic and Mimamsa and in the course of a discussion on
the accentuation of the term ‘Pancajanah’ (in B. S. II. 4, 11),
quotes from the Bhasika-Sutras dealing with the system of accen-
tuation in the $atapatha-Brahmana.‘ li His com. is in many places
based upon that of Yadupati 40 — the author enlarging upon topics
briefly dealt with by the other. 46 He carries on many abstruse dis-
cussions on grammatical issues (see III, 4, adh. 4, pp. 36, 30) and
quotes from the Kasika-Vrtti, the Mahabhasya and Kaiyata — not
to speak of the Prakriyakaumudt. Among the other works and
authors quoted by him are the Tantraratna (Mimamsa), the Nym.
4 1 f^rac. t »
(p. 189, 2-4.)
42 II. 3, p. 5; 30 b; iii, 2, p. no. Including the Partmala of Raghavendra
Svamin. See III, 1, p. 1 and p. 370 of Partmala.
43 C£. Kesava, IV. 2, p. 49 with Y; K. IV, 2, 35; Y, IV, 2, p. 17, b; K. 1.
2, 9: Y. p. 135; K. i. 2, 12: Y, 135; K. III. 4 adh. 4: Y. p. 324, line 16; K.
III. 2, 136: Y. 302.
44 f ft,”
(i . 4, p. 52). For Mss. of the Bhasika-sutras see Aufrecht, p. 410. (Cat. Catal)
45 K. Ill# 3, adh. 29: Y. p. 318. See also discussion on
( Unadi Sutra v, 1) in both.
46 Vide Y. Ill, 3, adh. 29, p. 218; 321 and III, 4, adh. 7, p. 333 : — K. 86.
Post-Vyasaraya Commentators 701
and the Tarangint, the Tarkatandava and the N yayavartikatat-
paryatlkaparisuddhi of Udayana (III, 2, p. 35), a commentary called
Tattvabodha on the Nyayavartika (III, 2, p. 65), Yaska’s Nirukta
(III, 2, adh. 8, p. nob), Vardhamana Upadhyaya’s commentary
on the Kusumanjali etc., as well as his own teacher VidySdhisa
(under the title of “Svaminah” II, 3, p. 44 and III, 2, p. 65). His
com. is the most discursive one on the NS. and seems to have been
commented upon by Nrsimha (Mys. O. L. c 2207).
37. Bidarahalli Srinivasa Tlrtha (c. 1590-1640).
Srinivasa Tirtha is a prolific glossator of the early seventeenth
century. He was the disciple, 47 and according to some, 48 a cousin
of Yadupati. He was not a Sannyasin at any time in his life; and
the title “Tirtha” is said to have been bestowed on him by
Raghavendra Svamin, in appreciation of his great learning and dis-
tinguished service to the cause of Dvaita Vedanta and its literature.
He is known as “Bidarahalli Srinivasa” to distinguish him from his
namesakes bearing the surname of “Sarkara” and “Lingeri.” 49 His
native village of Bidarahalli (not Bidurahalli as it is called on p. 318 of
the Vij Sex. Com. Vol .), is in the Dharwar district, some fifteen
miles from the junction of the T uhga and Varada rivers.
Nearly thirtyseven works have been attributed to him. They
are mostly commentaries and enjoy the widest popularity among
the followers of Madhva, both in view of the simplicity and
directness of their exposition.
(1-10) Dasa-Prakarana Glosses.
Srinivasa has left glosses on all the ten Prakaranas and all save
the one on the KL. have been printed. ( Bombay , 1895-8). The
47 1
rTRC. «WWHlk ^ %TT?J^W II {VTN- gloss, 6).
48 S.K. p. 190. The Vij. Sex. Com. Vol., p. 3x8, makes him a nephew of
Yadupati. The S.K. gives his fathers name as Krsnappayya.
49 For his works See Appendix III.
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
6
702 Post-Vyasaraya Commentators
gloss on the PL. known as Vakyartha-kaumudi runs to 3000
granthas. That on the VTN-tika, known as Vdkydrtha-dipikd is
a voluminous gloss running to 6700 granthas. The KN-g loss has
700 granthas. His com. on the Tattvodyota-tika (Bombay 1898), is
claimed to be a supplement to that of Vedesa’s — explaining pass-
ages not covered by the latter as well as those which remain stiff
even after the explanations of Vedesa. 50
Sutra Prasthana
Of his commentary on the Anubhdsya (G. V. L.) no Ms. has
hitherto been found. (12 ) His gl oss on the TP. of Jayatirtha is attest-
ed by two Mss. from Madras (R. no. 39283 and 754). His com-
mentary appears to go by the name of T attvabodhini or Vdkyartha-
muktavali. (13) His gloss on the NS. has been published from
Dharwar. It is a sort of complement to the commentary of
Yadupati 51 anpl is much indebeted to it, following it rather closely. ’ 2
(14-19) Upanisad-Prasthana
Commentaries on six out of the ten Upanisads : Isa, Prasna,
Mundaka, Mandukya, Aitareya and the Taittiriya, by Srinivasa,
are reported. But only the last three are actually available. The
glosses on the Mandukya and the Taittiriya, have been printed
while that on the Aitareya ( Aitareyabhasyartharatnamala ) in 7000
This, coupled with the acknowledgment of Yadupati as his Guru, shows that
Srinivasa belonged to the end of the 17th century. He cannot therefore be the
glossator on the Nym. criticised in the Nym. Kantakoddbara C.O.S. IX. p. 62.
Fantastic dates (1300 nd 1800 respectively) have been proposed for Srinivasa and his
Guru by Vasudeva Sastri Abhyankar in his introd. to the edn. of the Sarvadarsana-
samgraha, Bombay, p. 517.
51 Called or a ' gq re m I
52 Cf. S. Ill, 4, adh. 5-6 and Y. p. 330 b.
Post-Vyasaraya Commentators 703
granthas, is preserved in the Baroda O. L. (No. 10373). The
com. on the Taittiftya refers to Vidyadhiraja (ver. 5).
(20-22) Gita Rk-Prasthanas
The author’s commentaries on the Rgbhasya and the GT-
N yayadipika are not available. Extracts from his commentary on the
GB-Prameyadipika have been given in T. R. Krishnachar’s edn. of the
Prameyadipika with the Bhavaratnakosa of Sumatindra. A Ms.
of this gloss of Srinivasa, is recently reported to have been acquired
for the T. P. L. (gr. 3500). (23) His commentary on the XI
Skandha of the Bhagavata has been published from Dharwar.
Skandhas IV-V are available in Mss. (Pejavar Mutt, Coll., Udipi).
Nothing is however known of his (24) commentary on the Bhaga-
vata-Tatparya of Madhva, mentioned in the M, M. Sarigha list.
The author’s commentary on (25) the Pramanapaddhati ,° 3 and
the Nym 0> have been printed, though not those on (27) the
Vadavalt" and (28) the Bhedojjivana.
Miscellaneous Works
Srinivasa’s (29) Adhikaranarthasamgraha, is probably a sum-
mary of the Adhikaranas of the B.S. It is difficult to say what can
precisely be the subject-matter of his (30) Viksiptakhandartha-
samgraha. An incomplete Ms. in 900 granthas, is preserved in the
T. P. L. (no. 7899) of his (31) Mahabharata T. N. — Bhavacandrika.
His (32) Mantroddhara (com. on Tantrasarasamgraha ); and com-
53 This is complementary to that of Vedesa :
W ( vcr - »)•
It stops with II, 61, of the original (Poona, 1934).
54 Bombay, 1907. The commentary quoted and criticised by Anandabhattaraka
ir. his Nym-Kantakoddhara (C. O. S. IX) cannot of course, be Srinivasa Tirtha’s
(as has been assumed by Anantkrsna Sastri) but most probably one which the
latter followed closely.
55 Ms. G. R. Savanur, Dharwar. '
704 Post-Vyasaraya Commentators
mentaries on (33) the Pumsasiikta, (34) Vayustuti; and (35) Sada-
carasmrti (Abnikakaustubba) are not available.
38. Sarkara Srinivasa (c. 1590-1640).
He is another of Yadupati’s disciples, who has left us some
four works in all. The chief of these is a fairly elaborate commen-
tary (V akyartha-manjari ) 56 on the TP of Jayatirtha, in 5500 granthas.
It is widely read and is by far the simplest gloss on the original, free
from digressions. It is quoted and criticised by Jagannatha Tirtha
in his Bhasyadipika . 57 Once by mistake, Srinivasa attributes to
Ramanuja (under B. S. 1, 1, 2), a view 08 which is the very reverse
of what is to be found in the Sribhasya. oV
His other works are (2) a com. on the Bbedojjwana ;'' 0 one on
the (3) Sadacara Smrti and another (4) on the Tantrasara both
mentioned in the M. M. Sarigha List.
The next important writer after Srinivasa, is Raghavendra
Svamin. Between the two, however, may be mentioned one minor
author of the period : Satyanidhi Tirtha of the Uttaradi Mutt
(1638-48) to whom are attributed a com. on Bhedojjivana and a
Vdyu-Bbarati Stotra.
B. N. Krishnamurti Sarma
56 Belgaum. 57 Cf. Sarkara, p. 35 and Bhasyadipika, p. 93.
5 8 *fir u*rr-
n (p- 23).
59 It is evidently from the NS. that Sarkara derives its information, where,
it would appear to be attributed to certain Vaisnava interpreters other than
Ramanuja. See also the Notes to my edn. of Madhva’s Catns-sHtri-Bhasya,
Madras 1934, p. 117.
60 Bombay, 1901.
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue
under Akbar
Sher Shah’s land revenue system
Humayun returned to India in 1555, defeated Sikandar Sur,
and soon became the master of the Punjab and the Doab. At
Delhi, one of the most important changes, which he must have
noticed, in the method of administration, concerned the assessment
of the land revenue. As the Am has it, Sher Shah gave
up ‘sharing’ and introduced ‘measurement’ as the basis of assess-
ment. 1 Sher Shah could not introduce measurement everywhere
and thus ‘sharing’ the crops had not everywhere been abandoned
as t'he method of assessment of the land revenue.
Sher Shah seems to have adopted a simple method of assess-
ment. Some areas probably near the capital were selected, where the
produce of one Bigha of good, middling, and bad land under each
crop was ascertained. The average of the produce of three kinds
was taken and constituted the normal produce per Bigha of every
crop. The state demanded one third of this average produce and
thus a set of rates of assessment per Bigha of different crops was
Every season, then, in the areas where this system prevailed,
the surveyors went to the different villages, entered the area
under cultivation, collected the details of every crop, and
fixed the state demand in kind. The cultivator thus had to pay in
kind about one third of his produce.
This was probably the method which Humayun fdund in vogue
in certain parts of his newly acquired dominions and which he did
1 The Ain-i'Akbarh I, 347.
2 For details, See Am. Cf. ‘The Administrative System of Sher Shah by the
present writer in the Indian Historical Quarterly , December, 1936, pp. 588*!.
706 Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar
not like to change. Akbar found this method customary in certain
areas. 3 The Ain has preserved statistics proving thereby that
Akbar took these rates for granted and concerned himself 4
with the task of translating grain rates into cash rates. For this
purpose he made several experiments which we shall now consider.
Akbar s early experiments
During the first four years (in the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th year)
a uniform set of prices seems to have been adopted for the purpose
of converting grain demands into cash demands. This is obvious
from the fact that the state demand in cash per Bigha of various
crops is about the same in all parts of the empire. 5 How the set of
prices was prepared is more than we can say. It is likely however
that it represented the average of the prices prevailing in different
localities. The process of averaging, it seems, had been adopted
by Akbar’s revenue officials in arriving at the total produce of one
Bigha of land under different crops. There is no reason to believe
with Moreland that the prices represented the artificially high prices
prevailing in the imperial camp. 6 That would have been grossly
unfair to the cultivators. The areas selected for the purpose of ascer-
taining varying prices were very likely near the cities. The
average prices must have been prepared every year in the
Imperial Secretariat and sent to the local revenue authorities. 7
Provincial rates of crops
In the tenth year we find the demand in cash per Bigha for
various crops differing from province to province. In the same
province again we find varying rates within certain limits were
allowed. 8 It is rather difficult to understand what the limits indi-
cated. Obviously they implied that in the same province for some
3 The Ain-i-Akbart , I, 297. 4 Ibid., I, 297 to 300.
5 Ibid., I, pp. 303 to 347. 6 Agrarian System of Moslem India, 84.
7 Cf. the Ain, I, 347. 8 Ibid., I, 303 to 347, cf, Akbar Nama, 11, 270.
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar 707
commodities a varying rate of charges per Bigha was levied. Instead
of a uniform rate of prices throughout the empire based on an average
as before, the province was now adopted as the unit for fixing prices.
This is borne out by the fact that for most of the articles the same
rate of demand per Bigha is charged throughout the province.
But there remains the question as to why the rates differ for
certain commodities only in the same province? Were these
commodities such for which a uniform set of prices for the
whole province would have been manifestly more unjust than for
other commodities which show no such variations? Then there is
the other question, when a range of demands is shown for a province,
how was it applied? Of course we know that these tables record
the rates actually levied in those years and were prepared at the time
the Ain was being compiled. They are statements of facts rather
than a guide for assessment.
Adoption of Nasaq
In the thirteenth year Shihab-ud-Din, the new Diwan for the
crown lands is said to have given up annual Zabti and introduced
Nasaq.” As I have shown elsewhere’ n this meant the adoption of
a demand in cash irrespective of the area cultivated or the crops
sown based on the average demand for a number of years. This
was supposed to be a sort of permanent settlement which need not
have varied even over a long period.
T aqsim-ul-Mulk
In the fifteenth year another change seems to have been intro-
duced. Qanungos of every Parganah (?) were ordered to prepare
9 Akbar Nama, n, 333.
10 Indian Culture , January, 1937, pp. 543 ff. Nasaq as a system of Land
Revenue Assessment in Mughal India.
Since writing the above I have come across a similar description of the Nasaq
in another Ms. Farkang-i~Kardarii in the Library of the Muslim University, Aligarh.
708 Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar
a T aqstm-ul-Mulk for the area concerned and send it to the Secre-
tariat. There in the Ministry of Revenue, by estimate (of the area
under cultivation?) and computation (for conversion of demand in
kind into demand in cash?) land revenue demand was fixed anew. 11
What the Taqsim-ul-Mulk meant can be inferred from what had
been said before. When the Nasaq rates were adopted in the crown
lands, it is likely that the records of the area of the
land under various cultivators ceased to be compiled. Divisions
of the country were recorded anew i.e. records of individual
ownership of land were once again compiled giving the area
under cultivation of different crops. Moreland’s interpre-
tation of T aqsimat-ul-Mulk 12 is too fanciful to be adopted.
There is no reason to suppose with Moreland that there was any
change in the method of calculating the demand in kind. The
Ain-i-Akbari quotes an Imperial Schedule of Rates in kind as if it
was current when the Am was compiled. “The revenue levied by
Sher Khan generally obtained, and for the convenience of
the cultivators and the soldiery, the value was taken in ready
money.’’ 13 All exeprimenting on the part of Akbar concerned the
commutation of rates in kind of Sher Shah’s period into rates in
cash. There is no indication to suggest any widespread operations
in every Parganah for the purpose of ascertaining average local pro-
duce. Parganahs were not geographical areas of equal fertility and
it would be out of the way to suppose that an average of produce
applicable to the varying fertility of the Parganah was considered
more reasonable by the state or by the cultivators. What the
Qanungos did was simply to send in full particulars of the areas
under cultivation and suggest a rate for commutation of the grain
demand into demand in cash every year. It seems that the Ministry
11 Akbar Nama, in, 117, 118; Iqbal Nama, 213.
12 Agrarian System , 24^.
13 Ain, I, 297.
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akhar 709
of Revenue then obtained the sanction of the emperor for the
price schedule.
The Zabti System
This sytem prevailed till the 24th year when a change was
introduced. Sanctioning of the schedule of prices by the emperor
caused delay, besides the prices suggested were not always equitable
throughout the whole Parganah. A way out had to be found for a
satisfactory method of the conversion of the demand in kind into
demand in cash. This was done by adopting the Zabti system.
“From the beginning of the 15 th year to the 24th of the Divine era
an aggregate of the rates of collection was formed and a tenth of
the same was fixed as the annual assessment.” 14 This is a much
simplified statement in the Ain of what must have happened.
Two changes were involved in the new set of rates. First, the pro-
vinces were subdivided into Dasturs i.e. the areas were defined within
which the same rate of demand prevailed. It might be argued, as
Moreland does, 15 that the varying rates of certain demands recorded
in the same province in the nineteen years’ rates in the Ain might
have a reference to the previous existence of the Dasturs.
This would imply that though the rates for the provinces
as a whole are given, the provinces were divided into smaller areas.
This however is negatived by the fact that for many articles only
one rate is given. It would have been strange to find one uniform
price prevailing throughout the province for several articles and vary-
ing rates for some of them. As said above, it is difficult to come to a
definite conclusion about the interpretation of the varying rates of
assessment for certain commodities. But there can be no doubt
about the fact that the Schedule of Rates could not have been an
average of the varying demand in the various Dasturs in the province.
In the province of Oudh, for example, black sugarcane is recorded to
14 Ain., I, 347, 348.
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
15 Agrarian System , 89.
7
710 Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar
have been assessed at 200 dams a Bigha from the 10th to 24th
year. 16 If the Ain-i-Deh Sala involved addition of the aggregate
of the demand per Bigha from the 15th to 24th year and then taking
its average, we should have found a uniform rate of 200 dams for
the 12 Dasturs of Oudh. Unfortunately we find no such thing.
The demand varies from 203 dams and 15 jatals in Firuzabad to
240 dams and 9 jatals in Gorakhpur. 17 Naturally then the account
of the Ain must bear some other meaning. What happened in the
year 24th I think, was a two-fold process. The areas in various pro-
vinces were first grouped together in Dasturs i.e. areas wherein usually
the same prices prevailed — what we should call markets in modern
economic terminology. In the Schedules of Rates preserved under
the heading Ain-i-Deh Sala several provinces are shown as divided into
so many Sarkars, (e.g. 9 in Allahabad) and so many Dasturs, (e.g.
15 in Allahabad) i.e. assessment circles. Now for every one of these
circles, prices current for the last ten years were ascertained and an
average price was determined upon to serve as the basic rate of con-
version for individual crops. 18 As I have maintained above,
Akbar made no attempt at changing Sher Shah’s assessment
in kind. After ascertaining the average price of a crop, the demand
in kind of Sher Shah’s time was translated into demand in cash
which finds a place in the Schedule of Rates contained in the Ain.
These rates seem to have been permanently fixed in the
24th year.
16 Am , I, 320. 17 l bid., I, 355.
18 See Akbar Nama , in, 282.
Mr. Moreland’s interpretation of the word, Hal, in this passage though
possible, is however open to grave doubts; I understand this word to mean
‘condition’ as it ordinarily does in Persian literature.
The Persian text of the Akbar Nama reads: —
j) J ^ *•***)>] j/* j\ I; j&> SjLm $0
sjc y* Jk®
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar 71 1
To sum up, the system introduced by Akbar in the
24th year involved two processes. The cultivated lands under
various crops were surveyed every season. This did not always
necessitate actual measurement of the land under crops.
Then as now, the holdings of every cultivator were divided
into subsections the areas whereof need have been determined only
once. What the surveyors did was to record, like the modern
Patwari, that area no such and such of a cultivator’s land was
under sugarcane. He would then refer to his original survey papers
and find out the area of those numbers. Thus the surveyors perform-
ed what is called Girdawari in the Panjab today and recorded the state
of crops. The revenue officials in every’ Dastur were furnished
with detailed tables giving the demand of the state in cash for every
Bigha of different crops. Thus if he were dealing with a cultivator
of Firuzabad in Oudh who had four Bighas under sugarcane, the
revenue official would consult his Schedule of Rates, find sugarcane,
assessed at dam 240 jatal 9 ind demand dam 961 and jatal n from
the cultivator. These rates in their turn were based on two opera-
tions. The rates were uniform in what we may conveniently call
assessment circles. The empire was thus divided into areas where
the same or nearly the same prices prevailed. There were 1 19
assessment circles in all in the provinces of Lahore, Multan,
Allahabad, Agra, Oudh, and Delhi. The system also prevailed
over the greater part of the province of Malwa for which three rather
imperfect Schedules of Rates are given. To 138 Parganas of Bihar
as well the system was applied for which we have no Schedules of
Rates. It prevailed in a part of Ajmer as. well. Throughout an as-
sessment circle the rate of assessment per Bigha for the same
crop remained the same. This rate was based on the average
prices prevailing in that area during ten years i.e., 15th to 24th
and the average yield per Bigha arrived at by calculating the pro-
duce of a Bigha of the good, middling, and bad lands, during
712 Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar
t!he feign of Sher Shah, as preserved in the Ain. The arrangements
introduced in the 24th year were revised in the 27th year by Todar
Mai to whom the system owes its final form. 19 Fateh Ullah Shirazi
perfected the system of auditing the revenue accounts in the thirtieth
year. 20 We find two new principles introduced in the working of
the system later on. In the years 30, 33 and 35 the rates were
lowered on account of a very serious fall in prices. 21 When Akbar
moved to the Punjab in 1001 A.H. the rates were raised on account
of the higher prices. They were again lowered when Akbar left
the Punjab in the forty-third year.
Difficulties in Survey and Measurement
Zabti however was only one of the several systems prevalent in
Akbar’s times. But this was the system he wanted to see intro-
duced in all parts of his empire. It was not found possible to carry
out survey operations in those parts of the country which were held
as Jagirs conferred by the Emperor in payment of the salaries of
their Mansabs. We have to remember that when any Raja or
chief submitted, his lands became theoretically a part of the imperial
domain and were usually given back to him in satisfaction of the
salary of the Mansab which was then conferred upon him. The en-
tries in the Ain show that such areas were left alone. In the pro-
vince of Ajmer, e.g. no Dasturs are given for the Sirkars of Sarohi
and Bikaner and no returns of any kind have been included.
Obviously here the system of land revenue was what the Rajputs had
been maintaining there from times immemorial. Akbar’s
conquests made little difference to their internal government.
Similar must have been the case in Amber (modern Jaipur), Jodhpur
and certain other parts of Rajputana. Details for Jodhpur are given
19 Akbar Nama m, 381.
21 Ibid., hi, 463, 533, 578.
20 Ibid., in, 457 to 459.
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar 713
because for some time it was under imperial officers who may have
tried to introduce the system. I cannot, however, explain the pre-
sence of the* figures for Amber (Jaipur). It accepted the Mughal
domination much earlier than the introduction of this system and
at no time was it ever placed under a Mughal governor. It is un-
likely that its people voluntarily accepted measurement and survey
and changed their old system.
Ghalla Bakhsh and Batai
Ghalla Bakhsh was another system of land revenue assessment.
It involved the sharing of the grain between the state and the culti-
vator. The state claimed from /j tq 5/3 of the produce as the
land revenue. 22 Various types of Batai were also practised. Some
of them were meant to minimise the inconvenience inherent in the
Batai system. Sometimes the cultivated fields were demarcated
the state probably making its own arrangements for watching the
growth and cutting of the crops of its own part of the fields. Ap-
praisal was also resorted to when agreed upon, assessors examining the
state of the standing crop and estimating its probable yield. The
cultivator undertook to pay one third of the yield thus determined
upon to the state. 23 An attempt was made to persuade the cultivator
to pay the state its share in cash rather than in kind. The cultivator
was allowed to pay in cash at local rates. 24 But this gave so
great a latitude to the local officials if the rates had not to receive
imperial sanction, and so great a delay if they did, as to make the
system almost unworkable.
Nasaq
There was the system of Nasaq. The revenue was determined
upon on the average of the land revenue paid for the last ten to twelve
22 Ain-i-Akbari, I, 297, 508.
23 Dastur-td-Amal, Ram Pur; Farbang-i-Kardani, 32b to 33a; Ain-i-Akbari, I,
285 to 288. 24 Ain-i-Akbari, I, 285 fl>
714 Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar
years keeping in view any improvements that might have been made
in land. Thus assessed it did not vary with the area under cultivation
or the crops cultivated. It did not thus involve any survey or
measurement of the land nor did it necessitate any periodic prepara-
tion of the statement of the crops. 25
Group Assessment
Then there was group assessment. A sum was agreed upon
between the revenue officials and the Muqaddam who was to
realise the total from among the cultivators. 26 This may have increas-
ed the status of the Mucjaddams but they had to collect the
revenue from the cultivators according to the prevailing custom in
the village probably in kind, and converted it into cash before pay-
ment to the treasury. How was the amount agreed upon arrived at?
For how long was the agreement operative? It is likely that all these
questions were settled locally and individually just as the rent pay-
able by the tenants to their landlords is settled today. The state
claimed one third of the produce.
Some writers talk of a separate system — Naqadi. It is probably
either a misreading for Nasaq or simply refers to the option to pay
in cash. No such system of assessment of land revenue existed in
the Mughal times.
Jagirs
. The land revenue of the lands held in Jagirs was also similarly
assessed. There was no difference between crown lands and the
Jagirs in this respect. The Jagirdar received the land revenue
assessed by the Imperial officials and collected by the Muqaddams.
Papers as usual were sent to the Imperial Secretariat.
25 Cf. ‘Nasaq as a method of Land Revenue Assessment in the Mughal
period’ by the present writer in Indian Culture, January, 1937, where original autho-
rities have been cited and discussed.
% 6 Cf. the letter of acceptance which a Muquddan was required to sign.
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar 715
A Jagirdar was a civil or military servant who was paid his
salary by an order which authorised him to realise the amount due
to him by collecting the land revenue of the area assessed to yield
the exact amount. Akbar is said to have discontinued the grant of
Jagirs at one time but not long after the system was in full swing
again. The Jagirdar was never allowed to stay long in any one place.
Frequent transfers emphasized the fact that he was usually a bird
of passage in the place he was stationed in. The Muqaddams paid
the land revenue to him instead of paying it to the imperial collectors.
If the emperor granted any remissions of land revenue for any cause
whatsoever, the Jagirdar was also bound to decrease his collections
accordingly. 27 Thus the Jagirdar was not a feudal baron having
any ‘rights’ of his own over the cultivators. He did not stand
between the cultivator and the king, he simply took the position
of the royal officers who would have otherwise collected the land
revenue had it not been assigned to him.
The various Systems in Operation : The Province of Allahabad
The Zabti system prevailed in the whole of the Mughal
province of Allahabad. Moreland suggests that the Sarkar of
Bhatkhara ‘seems to have been left entirely in the hands of
chiefs.’ 28 ! It seems more probable that it! had not yet been con-
quered and occupied. Its name is not mentioned in the list of nine
Sarkars in the Ain. 15, the names of its Parganas are missing from
the Account of the Provinces. 2 ” The entry of its revenue figures
does not mean much. Similar entries are to be found for many
unconquered districts of Bengal. No record of surveyed area is to
be found for seven other Parganas, though the schedules of rates
include them in their respective assessment circles. In the
Parganas of Mahoba in the Sarkar of Kalinjir, the Ghalla Bakhsh
27 Akbar Nama, 111, 463, 533, 578.
28 Agrarian System, 118, 29 Ain, I, 424 to 433.
716 Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar
system seems to have been prevailing. 120,000 betel leaves are
included in the figures for land revenue (Am, I, 430).
Oudh
Oudh^was entirely Zabti and was divided into twelve assess-
ment circles. The Schedule of Rates for the spring harvest omitted
the figures for the last six assessment circles (Am, I, 354). The
omission cannot imply that they had no spring crops.
Agra
Agra, divided into 28 assessment circles, was also assessed
according to the Zabti system. Land had not been measured in 16
Parganas, some MSS. suggest that the system of Naqadi
(Nasaq?) prevailed here. 30 The Sarkar of Mandasor is missing
in the Schedule of Rates in the Ain 15. But in the Account of the
Twelve Provinces, 31 the areas of its various Parganas are given and so
is the land revenue. The absence of a Schedule lead us to infer
either that it was conquered or surveyed after the Ain 15 had been
compiled, or that it was assessed in some other way.
Ajmer
Ajmer is said to have been divided into 7 assessment circles. 32
In the Account of the twelve provinces it is said that in this province
1/7 or 1/8 of the produce was given as the land revenue. 33 It means
that the rate of revenue per Bigha for different crops was less than the
rates prevailing elsewhere. The Schedule does not favour such a
suggestion. The province can be said to have been paying revenue
according to the prevailing local systems. This is still more
likely to be the case because the greater part of the province was
occupied by the various Rajput states. No figures either of areas ot
of rates are available for Bikaner, Sarohi and Jodhpur. It seems that
30 Ain., I, 442, 443. , '31 Ibid., I, 442, 443.
32 Ibid., I, .364. 33 n, id ' j ( 505<
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar 717
the local custom must have been prevailing. The other states form
parts of various Sarkars. Of course the area under cultivation may
have been ascertained in other states when they were conquered and
for some time administered by the Mughals. But it would be rather
too much to hope that the restored Rajas of these states would have
been strong enough to set up and maintain — or to continue if the
Mughals had already introduced it — a system of land revenue assess-
ment radically different from the one prevailing there previously.
Delhi
Delhi was divided into 28 assessment circles. For Kumaon
however, there is no Schedule of Rates. It is divided into 21
mahals. The revenue for five of these mahals is shown as yet ‘un-
determined’. 31 The revenue for the remaining sixteen is given in
round figures. Moreland suggested that Kumaon might have been
under chiefs. But we know that Kumaon did not form a part qf
the Mughal empire at this time. 3 ' 1 The figures of its land revenue
probably represent what was known of the revenue potentiality of
the district as then administered by its own chiefs. In any case
they do not represent revenue figures according to the Zabti system.
Probably Ghalla Bakhsh was the system of assessment and collection
in the conquered parts, if any, of the districts.
Lahore
Lahore consisted of eight assessment circles. 36 Some of ihe
Parganas had not been measured and might therefore have been
assessed according to some other system, that is either by sharing
• of crops or Nasaq. No figures for the area of the parganas
beyond the five rivers are given. One of them, Kehlor, modern
Bilaspur, was, as now, a state under its own Raja and must have
*
34 Ain., I, 521. i
35 It was conquered by Aurangzeb. 36 Ain-i-Akbari, I, 377, 378.
DECEMBER, 1 938 8
718 Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akhar
had its own system of land revenue assessment, probably sharing of
the crops. The Akbar Nama mentions besides some states under
their own chiefs in the Punjab including Raja Budhi-Chand of
Kangra, Raja Parsram of Jammu, Raja Basu of Mao, Raja Anurodh
of. Jaswal, Raja Jagdish Chandra of Goler, Raja Shashpal Chand
of Dadyal, Rai Sansar Chand of Sibba, Rai Pratap of Mankot, Raja
Bhonor of Jasrota, Balbhadhar of Laganpur, Daulat of Sher (?) Kot,
Krishna of Paladyo; Raja of Bhairiwal and Raja Krishna. 37 There
was a raja of Chamba 38 as well.
Multan and Malwa
Multan was mostly Zabti. In Malwa, Mandal Garh was
an independent state. There Sarkar of Gogran seems to have been
Naqadi (Nasaq ?); six of the 12 mahals had not been measured, the
figures for the first and last Pargana are .shown by cash figures
(i.e. Nasaq). The Sarkar of Mandasor also seems to have been
‘Nasaqi.’ The assessment circle Raisan and Chanderi alone has a
workable Schedule of Rates. In the remaining two circles rates exist
for very few crops. In t!he Ujjain circle they are expressed in
Mahmudi coins, Dams and Jatals. 39
There was cultivation of cereals in two-third parts of a province.
It may be argued then that ‘Mixed’ system of assessment prevailed
here, Zabti rates for selected crops and some other system for the
staple crops. Probably Sher Shah’s assessment rates in kind pre-
vailed here. The selected crops are mostly those for which cash
rates were common under Sher Shah.
Bihar
f
In Bihar Zabti was common. Out of 199 Parganas 138 were
thus assessed and about 81% of the revenue was thus collected.
37 Akbar Nama, in, 583. ? 38 Tuzak-i-Jahangiri, p. 346.
39 Ain, I, 457 to 473 and 383 to 385.
- Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akhar 719
The entire Sarkar of Monghyr yielding 109,625,981 dams and
several Parganas in the Sarkar of Bihar, yielding 8,130,120 dams
were not measured. In the Sarkar of Rohtas the entries of the area
in the Parganas of Dinarah, Patanpur, Kot Prin and Mongror yield-
ing 313.185 dams are doubtful where ditto (”) alone signifies that
the area was equal to that of the two preceding Parganas. The
area of Nannor is given but its land revenue of 2,000,000 could
not have been based on any Schedule of Rates. Similar entries are
to be found for Garhsanah (876,200 dams) in the Sarkar of
Hajipur, Chulra (400000 dams) in the Sarkar of Saran, Aubhi
(60,000 dams), Basin etc., (1,125,000 dams), Namwa (40,539
dams), Jabdi (45,025 dams), Koradi (90,000 dams), and Nauram
(288,140 Dams) in the Sarkar of Tirhut. 10 All these do not account
for more than one half of the land revenue of the 61 unmeasured
Parganas as given above. Again the fact that the revenue is stated
in dams does not preclude the possibility of the old system of shar-
ing the crop still prevailing. Or the system of Nasaqi might have
been prevailing here at least in some of the Parganas.
Bengal and Orissa present special problems. To begin with,
not all the lands described in the Ain as forming part of Bengal and
Orissa had been conquered at the time the Ain was written. The
larger part of the conquered portion as well was yet under Bengal
chiefs. Usman, the leader of the Afghans and the chief of Bhatti,
Raja Satarjit of Bhusna, Raja Indar Narain of Pachet, Salim Khan of
Hijilli, Raja Bir Hamir of Mandaran, the Bhumya zemindars of
Bhawal, Bikrampur, Bhalava, Chandra Dip and Khizrpur, Raja
Raghu Nath of Shushing, Majlis Oub of Fathabad, Musa Khan
of Jatrapur, Pahalwan of Matang, Ram Chandra of Bagula, Bayazid
of Sylhet, ?nd several others are mentioned in two contemporary
40 Ain ,, I, 417 to 423.
720 Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar
memoirs of Jahangir’s reign as some of the independent chiefs. 41
As described in the Ain the system of Nasaq seems to have been
current in Bengal in the areas that were under the Mughals. There
is nothing in the contemporary records to support Moreland’s
statement that the older system in vogue was continued by Akbar
and that no detailed information about the province was collected. 42
Now Nasaq, though it did not involve any measurement of the
land, did necessitate the preparation of ‘Record of Rights’ wherein
the holdings of every cultivator and the land revenue assessed there-
on were mentioned. We know of no older system known as
Nasaq. Nasaq and Zabti were two new terms introduced by
Akbar’s land revenue officials. Thus what Todar Mai did was to
obtain information about the land revenue paying capacity of every
cultivator. He then imposed the system of Nasaq on the culti-
vators. This implies that figures were collected for the preceding
ten or twelve years and the average thereof was fixed as the revenue
payable by every cultivator. This presupposes the existence of
a detailed register of Revenue accounts before Akbar’s conquest of
Bengal. Todar Mai then had to do this task viz., to collect land
revenue figures as paid by the cultivators during the preceding ten
or twelve years, strike an average, and fix the land revenue for every
cultivator on that basis. If it had been in kind so far, he had to
arrange for its equitable conversion into revenue in cash. Todar
Mai’s report to the emperor as contained in the Ain 43 does not
therefore imply that he had taken steps to continue the existing
practices only. It is easy to understand that Ghalla Bakhsh, sharing
of crops, had ceased to be practised in Bengal under Sher Shah who
41 Cf. ‘Bengal under Jahangir,’ the English abstract with notes of Baharistan-i-
Ghaibt of Nathan by the present writer in the Journal of Indian History and also
Safar Nama Abdul Latif (MS) Persian.
4 2 JRAS., 1926, 48.
43 ^ 393 * Th e A.S.B. text has Naqadi but Morelands reading Nasaqi
is preferable.
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akhar 721
probably introduced survey there. On the basis of that survey
and with the help of the Schedule of Rates in kind given in the Ain
the land revenue might have been fixed in Bengal. As time passed,
however, the Rates were forgotten, the records for areas disappeared,
but the assessment in kind without resort to sharing was continued.
Todar Mai changed it into assessment in cash.
Gujarat
In the province of Gujarat lay the states of Idar, Baglanah,
Rajpipla, Dungarpur, Sirohi, Sorath, Jhalawar, Cutch, Nawanagar.
Nazarbar, Mohan, Lonavah, Barya, Bahrai, Ranabad, Jahapa,
Jabarmandi, Banswara, Soni and Ram Nagar. 44 Some of them had
accepted Mughal sovereignty; others were still independent. We
are told in the Mirat-i-Abmadi that out of the 16 Sarkars in Gujarat
in six the ruling chiefs paid the provincial governors a yearly tri-
bute and undertook to send a contingent of horses for military ser-
vice. They were left to carry on their administration as best as
they could. In the Imperial territories as well there were many
chiefs. In Idar (feudatory) the system of appraisal flourished. The
measured area of Jhalawar is given. In the Sarkar of Sorath the
system of Nasaq seems to have prevailed. There were besides the
imperial districts of Gujarat for which revenue figures are given.
In the Sarkar of Ahmadabad 7,28,61,792 dams were realized from
unmeasured Parganahs as against a total of 20,83,06,994 dams.
Sarkar of Godhra does not seem to have been occupied by
the Mughals. Though the area under crops and revenue
in dams is given, no other details are available. The Sarkars
of Surat, Champaner, Broach, Baroda, Nandad were all measured.
It is curious that no area figures either for Pattan or Ahmadabad
are available. 45 It is difficult to understand the system
44 Mir at , I, 188.
45 Ain , I, 493 to 508.
722 Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar
that would measure land in the suburbs but leave Pattan and
Ahmadabad alone. There is no reason to doubt, however, the state-
ment that the system of Nasaq prevailed in the Imperial territories.
But neither the text nor any other authority supports the statement
of Moreland that the system of Nasaq had prevailed in the country
at the time when Akbar conquered it. The Akbar Nama (III. 65)
and the Mirat-i-Ahmadi (I, 13 1-2) both suggest that it was intro-
duced by Todar Mai who was left in Gujarat to carry out revenue
assessment in 1571.
Khandesh
In the thirty two Mahals of Khandesh all that Akbar is said
to have done is to increase the existing assessment by 50%.'“’
Berar
In Berar there were many chiefs. Chatwa, Dadhi Rao, Bija
Rao, Nahar Rao, Wailah, Sarkoth, Medani Rao, Kamjeo, Indarjeo,
Chaman Rai, Ram Garh, and Babjeo were some of the most im-
portant of them. There were the chieftainships of Baojarah, Basin
and Manikdrug. 17 We do not know how many of them had been
subdued by the Mughals. Akbar seems to have continued the
existing system, only he increased the incidence of taxation.
Thatta
In the province of Thatta, sharing of crops was common, l /i
being claimed as the state’s share. The cultivators had the option
to pay in kind or in cash but were encouraged to pay in cash. Here
again a very large part of the country was under chiefs who collected
the land revenue from the cultivators and paid a tribute to the
Mughals. 48
46 Am, I, 474. ff, 47 Ibid., I, 478 to 492.
48 Ibid., I, 556®.
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akhar 723
Kashmir
In Kashmir appraisal and division of the crops is said to have
formed the usual method of land revenue assessment. One half of
the produce was claimed by the state as its share. A part of the
assessment was also made in cash probably where valuable crops like
saffron were concerned. But the general account given in the Am 40
is contradicted by the definite description of the system which
Akbar continued here and which is described in the Akhar NamaS n
We are told there that l /-x> of the produce was claimed here as the
revenue. The settlement was made with the village as a whole
which undertook to pay a certain amount of rice as revenue. This
was based on a rate of demand assessed in kind based on immemorial
custom.
The State and the Cultivator
The cultivator in Akbar’ s reign dealt directly with the state.
He paid land revenue in cash usually. The demand of the state
varied with the area under cultivation and the crops cultivated. He
was supposed to pay from one eighth to one half of his gross pro-
duce. The ascertainment of this share in cash must have been fair
to him because he had the right to challenge the state demand and
had the option of paying in kind if he felt himself aggrieved.
The cultivator was better off under Akbar than the tenant of
to-day. He paid only one third of the gross produce whereas the
tenant parts with from 40 to 50% of his gross produce to-day for his
landlord. But on the other hand the state got a higher percentage
of the produce of the land under Akbar, 33% of the gross produce,
whereas now the state claims to be receiving not more than 20%
of the gross produce. This was because the state recognized no
landlords other than cultivators and also because the land revenue
was the main, if not quite the only, tax on the masses.
* 49 Ain., I, 570. 50 Akbar Nama, III, 548.
724 Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar
Rent or Tax?
The cultivators and not the state owned the land. They
could sell, mortgage, and give away their lands in gift. 51 Their
lands were inherited like all other property. The state had
an interest in the landed estates of a cultivator who ran
away after defaulting in the payment of the revenue just as
now. It would make temporary arrangements for the cultivation of
the land instead of applying to the cultivator the modern methods
of attaching his estate for the satisfaction of its claims.
The Agricultural Policy of Akbar
We have seen above that the land revenue collected depended
upon the actual area under crops and the quality of those crops. In
order to draw a larger revenue the only method open to the state
was to get the area under cultivation increased, and encourage the
sowing of the crops yielding a better cash value.’ 2 The encourage-
ment of agriculture then was a necessary duty of the state. Akbar
performed it by granting advances to the cultivators which were
repayable within a year. ' 3 These were usually made with a view to
encourage the introduction of better crops or help the cultivator to-
wards defraying partial expenses of bringing new land under culti-
vation. In order to make it profitable for the cultivators to break
new lands a very low rate was fixed in the beginning. Such land
only paid i / 26th part of the produce in the first year and it was only
in the fifth year, that the normal demand was reached. In the case
of the land which had been left uncultivated for less than 5 years,
the demand began at 2/15 and rose to J/3 in the fifth year.
When better crops were introduced there was a reduction of 25%
in the beginning on the sanctioned rates. 54 To guard against
5* Nigar Nama-i-Munsht, 123 ff.
53 Akbar Nama, III, 381.
52 Ain, I, 285.
54 Ain , I, 284.
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar 725
’damage to standing crops in times of warfare, a special staff was re-
cruited for the purpose of assessing such damage and paying the
cultivators its assessed value. (Cf. News Letters of Aurangzeb’s
Reign.)
For pastures, separate rates prevailed. The gardeners paid
garden rates from the time of planting the trees, except in the
case of two rather valuable crops, almonds and grapes, where pro-
bably there was a danger that trees planted might not always survive
to bear fruits. Here a cash rate of Rs. 2^4 P er Bigha was charged
only when the trees began to bear fruits. When agricultural land
began to be built upon, a flat cash rate was charged upon their
superficial area and the parks attached to them if any. - '*’
Survey and Measurement
Akbar introduced certain mechanical and administrative
changes in the method of the survey and measurement of land.-
The Jarib ceased to be a string liable to be stretched. Bamboo poles
with iron rings at both the ends were introduced. A Jarib of a
uniform length was introduced throughout the Empire presumably
in the districts where the Zabti system was in vogue. 50
Collection of Land Revenue
The collection of land revenue was made systematic. When
the survey operations were complete the demand for land
revenue was computed. Demand-slips were prepared and distri-
buted either through the Patwari or the Muqaddam. Then the
collections started. Every season an attempt was made to clear off
the arrears first. They formed the first charge on the land. After
the arrears, if any, had been cleared, the dues for that particu-
lar season were collected. Akbar improved upon the existing
55 MtrZti-i-Ahmddi, I, 268 to 172.
56 Ain, I, 296; Akbar Nama, III, 117,
Lh.Q.j December, 1938
9
726 Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar
practices by ordering that the Muqaddam be paid 2 / 2 % of tl:i e
collection by the state/ 7 The board and lodging expenses of the
surveying parties were also paid by the state in accordance with
an imperial decree/ 8 Any excess realized was to be credited against
the next season’s demand. There was a Qanungo in every Para-
ganah who was paid at the rate of Rs. 20 to 50 per mensem. ’ 9 The
Karori was at first appointed to be in charge of the revenue units
each producing one crore of Tankas, but he soon became the Re-
venue Officer for the Sarkar. 60 It is difficult to understand accurately
what Badayuni’s complaints about these officers imply. His Persian
text obviously states that when auditing of their accounts took place,
many of them were found to be negligent or guilty and thereupon
were punished/ 1 Smith has perverted the sense of the passage in
discovering therein a breakdown of Akbar’ s revenue arrange-
ments/ 2 There was a Treasurer who issued collective receipts to the
Muqaddams and individual receipts to the cultivators. There were
besides accountants, surveyors, measurers, Thanadars, Shiqdars and
Karkun. In every village, or a group of villages, there was a clerk
maintained by the state and a patwari maintained by the
cultivators/ 3
When the collections started, — on the Holi in spring and on
the Dasehra in autumn 84 — daily reports of collectors were to be
sent by the Recorder to the Collector. Every month receipts were
sent to the ministry of Revenue. Any damage to the crops by un-
foreseen factors was to be reported to the Emperor who would then
order necessary remission. of land revenue due. 65 The regulations
57 Ain, I, 285. 58 Ibid., I, 286.
59 Am, I, 300. 60 Akbar Nama, III, 1 1 7.
61 Badayuni , II, 192 cf. the English translation. The translator is respon-
sible for Smith's error.
62 Smith’s Akbar the Great Mughal , 140, 141.
63 Akbar Nama, III, 381 and 63; Am, I, 287.
64 Ain, I, 287. 65 Ibid., I, 286 and 287,
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar 727
for the collection of land revenue and the preparation of necessary
papers remind one very much of a modern manual of Land Revenue
Administration or the Standing Orders issued by the Boards of Re-
venue or Financial Commissioners.
A large number of taxes usually paid by the cultivators was
remitted by Akbar. We have seen how he released them from the
payment of many additional burdens which even now are borne by
them. Besides this, presents, harvest fees, Nazars of various sorts
and several taxes on the supplementary sources of income of the
cultivators were remitted. The remission of the Jizya and the pil-
grimage tax took away a very heavy burden from over the heads of
the poorer among them. Taxes on cattle and trees, sale and pur-
chase of horses, testing and exchange of money and similar other
charges were also remitted. 06
A k bar’s Land Revenue
The total amount of land revenue said to have been assessed,
if not actually collected, under Akbar has been estimated at
Rs. 14,25,09,318 and 12,00,000 betel leaves, by Abul Fazl in the
Am-i-Akban .° 7 This figure excludes income from salt mines, the
customs revenue and some miscellaneous taxes mentioned separately
in the Am. Muhammad Tahir writing in the thirty first year of
Shah Jahan placed the total revenue of Akbar and Jahangir at
Rs. 17,50,00,000 a year. 08 This is borne out by the chronicle of the
Mughal Empire by Palseert who based his figures on the account
book of ‘the late king’ and placed the total revenue at
Rs. i7,45,oo,ooo. 09 Even the earlier and lesser figure of
Rs. 14,25,09,318 includes the land revenue of several places which
66 Am ,, I, 287 and 301.
67 Total of the land revenue of Various provinces as given in the Am.
68 Tahir, 248a.
69 Page 213 of the Dutch text & page 57 of the translation by Prof. Brij
Narain. (MS.).
728 Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar
had not been conquered yet. Further it includes the estimated re-
venue of various states and chieftainships, the revenue resources of
which were never at the disposal of the Mughal Emperor. It is
difficult thus to evaluate accurately the revenue resources of Akbar.
It would not be too low an estimate if we placed it at
Rs. 10,00,00,000 for the territories directly governed by the
Emperor. The income from the crownlands alone has been esti-
mated at Rs. 70,00,000 under Jahangir by Quazvini. 70 This only
implies that Jahangir was very lavish in the grant of Jagirs. Tahir
places it at Rs. 3,000,000 under Shah Jahan. 71 Abul Fazl tells us
that when in the year 30, Akbar granted remission of 1 / 1 1 in Rabbi
in the provinces of Allahabad, Oudh and Delhi, of 1 / 6 in
the autumn harvest in Oudh and Allahabad, they amounted to
Rs. 17,68,676 11/20 in the crown lands alone. This included a
special remission of 1/5 in the neighbourhood of Allahabad in Rabbi
as well. 72 Similarly in the thirty-third year by the remission of 1 / 6
in Agra, Oudh and Delhi in Rabbi and of 1/9 in Allahabad
and Agra, Oudh and Delhi in the Kharif, the State
lost Rs. 48,32,001 35/40 in the crownlands. 73 Interesting as the
figures for the crownlands are they do not carry our information
about the land revenue very far. A larger income from the crown-
lands only implied the payment of cash salaries to a larger extent.
Todar Mai and A k bar’s Land Revenue System
When Zabti was introduced Todar Mai and Shah Mansur
were joint Diwans of the empire. 74 After the system had been
laid down, Todar Mai was sent to Bengal. Naturally the
task of applying the new regulations fell to Shah Mansur.
There is every reason to believe, however, that Todar Mai
must have done his work of laying the foundation of the system
70 Badshabnama , 297b. 71 Tahir, 248a. 72 Akbar Nama, III, 463.
73 Ibid., Ill, 533. 74 Ibid., Ill, 282.
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar 729
well. He had been several times employed earlier for the purpose
of solving knotty problems of land revenue administration in the
various parts of the empire. It is probable that the appointment of
Shah Mansur with Todar Mai was a concession to Muslim feeling.
His administration of the revenue ministry created many practical
difficulties and Todar Mai who was in Bengal had to defend the
officers stationed in that province against the meticulous demands of
Shah Mansur. 7 ' 1 In the year 26 Todar Mai was appointed the
Vazir on his return from Bengal. 70 In the 27th year he was ex-
alted to the High office of the Vakil. 77 It was now that the task of
modifying the system that had been started in the year 24 fell on
his shoulders. It was discovered that sometimes the collections had
exceeded the limits of the revenue demand laid down by the minis-
try. The actual measurement of the land under cultivation every
year created difficulties. Arrears of land revenue had accumulated,
the granting of advances had complicated accounts. Various other
problems of detail also demanded attention. Todar Mai therefore
issued a comprehensive order covering almost all phases of land
revenue assessment and collection. Thus the system set up in the
year 24 was now modified to a very large extent.
It was now decided to station a clerk in every village. Where-
ver excessive payments were exacted, the extra amount collected was
ordered to be credited to the next crops’ revenue. All cultivable
land was to be measured once for all. The cultivators undertook to
stand security for one another and it seems the whole village com-
munity was also made responsible for the regular collection of land
revenue. To encourage the bringing up of land lying fallow for 4
years or more it was decided that in the first year /t. of the ordinary
assessment be realized, in the second year ^4 thereof and in the third
the full demand should be "realized. Land lying fallow for two
75 Akbar Kama, III, 316. 76 Ibid., Ill, 373. 77 Ibid., Ill, 381, 382.
73 ° Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar
years was to pay of the assessment the first year and the ordinary
land revenue in the second year. From the barren land it was
decided to collect a nominal amount in kind till it was able to pay
the full demand. Taqavi was to be granted on the security of people
known to the revenue officials and was to be recovered in two ins-
talments.
The relief to be granted to the cultivators was also regulated.
In case of excessive rain a deduction of 2 /1 °/ Q was ordinarily allowed
which could be raised to 7 / 4 % * n sandy tracts or forests.
Extraordinary damage to • the crops was reported to the Emperor
and his orders obtained about the necessary reduction in revenue.
The reports of daily collections were sent every week to the
provincial secretariat and the revenue collected sent at the end of
every month to the treasury. The treasurer issued receipts to the
cultivators. The collector was paid his salary every quarter. Yearly
reports were submitted (by the provincial Diwan) about the work
of the collections. If the total receipts for a revenue circle as a whole
showed an increase, no explanation was to be demanded about de-
crease, if any, in any Parganahs therein. To facilitate the work of
collection, tables for the conversion of old coins with those in use
were supplied.
The work of survey and measurement was also put on a better
footing. The area under cultivation was ascertained after
making enquiries at the time when the crops were standing. The
survey parties were to complete 250 Bighas daily in summer and
200 Bighas in winter. Their board allowance was also regulated.
In the areas where sharing was in force an allowance for guard-
ing the crop was allowed at the rate of half a Dam per Bigha. TS
These detailed orders issued by Todar Mai prove that he was
called upon to solve the difficulties arising out of the land revenue
78 Akbar Nama, III, 381, 382.
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar 731
regulations issued in the 24th year. We have already referred above
to the work that Todar Mai did in Bengal. Thus there is eveiy
reason to connect Todar Mai with the land revenue system of
Akbar. It was not Khafi Khan who in the eighteenth century
created legends about Todar Mai as Moreland suggests. Almost a
century earlier Chandar Bhan praised Todar Mai. 79
In the 30th year another aspect of the question received some
attention without changing the fundamental basis of the
Mughal land revenue system. Amir Fath Ullah Shirazi was
appointed Amin-ul-mulk and was called upon to put aright the
relations between the audit department and the collectors in the
muffassil. As a result of his investigations it was decided to hold
collectors responsible for the sums actually collected by them, to
appraise their work for the entire area under their charge by com-
paring their collections with those of the last year. The allowance
and the staff allowed to them were also put on a more satisfactory
basis. From every Parganah one Qanungo was retained at the court.
Two minor changes were introduced in the collection of land
revenue. Any excess realised from the cultivators was to be given
credit in the collections for the next crop. If the Malba (a local cess)
was ever realised against instructions issued by the Emperor, the
amount realised was to be given credit to the cultivators for the
next crop. The treasurers in the Parganahs were recruited from
among a better class of people. 80
A Retrospect
The Imperial territory under Akbar was divided into three
classes : the territory under Zamindars i.e. ruling chiefs, the
79 Cf. Chahar Chaman-i-Brahman by Chandar Bhan for several ancedotes
about Todar Mai and his revenue administration. Mr. Moreland is wrong in hold-
ing that the legends about Todar Mai arose late in the eighteenth century.
Chandar Bhan wrote in Shah Jahan’s reign.
80 Akbar Nama, III, 457 to 460.
732 Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar
areas held by the Jagirdars and the crownlands. The term
Zamindars should be strictly applied only to those ruling
chiefs who had not accepted any Mansab in the Imperial system
and were content with retaining their position as hereditary
rulers of the territories under their control. To them Akbar s re-
venue reforms meant little. They collected the land revenue from
their cultivators as they had been accustomed to do and paid a tri-
bute to the Mughal Government. These were the persons who had
been able to escape Sher Shah’s system of measurement as well. In
most of their territories various forms of Batai prevailed, sharing of
crops, sharing by appraisal, sharing of the area under crops. The
share of the state varied from J/3 to T /% . Then there
were the hereditary Rajput Jagirdars and other ruling chiefs who had
accepted the Mansabdari system, turned into Imperial Mansabdars
and received their homeland as perpetual Jagirs. Naturally in their
homelands the old systems of collection of land revenue were left
in tact. For sometime some of these states formed a part of the
imperial domains and as such it was possible for the Ministry of
Finance to preserve some records for them. As their states were given
back to them as Jagirs, their rental value had always to be entered in
the revenue registers. Whether it represented the land revenue actu-
ally collected is a difficult question to decide. Rana Amar Singh’s son
Karan Singh was created a commander of five thousand when Amar
Singh submitted to Jahangir. The homelands of the Kachwahas
were always shown as bringing in enough land revenue to support
a Mansabdar of 2000. The land revenue of several of
these states could only be stated approximately and that imperial
methods of assessment and collections were as much resented
then as the modern method of assessments are to-day. The
position here was further complicated because there were Jagirdars
under these ruling chiefs who collected the land revenue in their
charges and owed their chiefs only the performance of certain feudal
Assessment and Collection of the Land Revenue under Akbar 733
duties. The second sections of the Jagirs consisted of the areas
assigned to various Mansabdars in lieu of salaries. This was a vary-
ing quantity. The Jagirs of various Mansabdars were changed from
time to time, sometimes a Mansabdar was paid in cash instead of by
Jagir. The same Jagir would now be held by one Mansabdar; on his
transfer to another part of the country, it was probably held by
another. The Jagir was granted in place of a cash salary and hence
the state was interested in seeing that it paid no more than the
cash salary granted to the Jagirdars. Naturally the system of land
revenue assessment in such Jagirs did not differ from the system of
assessment in crownlands. The land revenue assessment and collec-
tion here were regulated by the state as in the crownlands. They
formed a part of the system prevailing in the neighbourhood. Thus
in these Jagirs as well as in the crown-lands four systems of land
revenue assessment prevailed. Crop sharing of various types,
Zabti, Nasaqi and group assessment were some of the systems in
vogue. In all these systems except Nasaqi the cultivators had the
option of paying either in cash or in kind. In the areas where Batai
of various types was prevalent, the imperial officers were ordered to
encourage payment in cash at local rates. In the Zabti areas they
had the option to pay in kind if they thought the code rates were
unfair to them. The system of Nasaq however was bound up with
payment in cash only and in areas where it prevailed no choice was
allowed. Generally speaking it can be said that Akbar aimed at
introducing the Zabti system in all parts of his empire, but he and
his advisers were too much of practical administrators to insist on en-
forcing it uniformly everywhere. Akbar desired payments in cash
above everything else. This could be secured under all the- systems
in vogue. Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Oudh, Allahabad and
Bihar, were mostly Zabti except in the areas under independent
rulers or Zemidars i.e. ruling chiefs who had been able to contract
out of the Mansabdar system. Ajmer is also said to have been
l.U.Q., DECEMBER, 1938 to
734 Assessment dnd Collection of the Land Revenue under Akhdr
Zabti but it is difficult to believe that Jagirdars whose successors are
clinging to their parochical rights so tenaciously even today would
have allowed their lands to be measured and land revenue assessed on
them in this fashion. In Bengal, Orissa and Behar, Nasaq was
introduced though a very large part of these provinces was either
unconquered or under chiefs who continued their own arrange-
ments. In Kashmir and Sind sharing of the crop was practised. In
Khandesh the local custom was continued though the incidence
of taxation was raised. Gujarat again was largely held by chiefs,
many of whom were allowed to continue their own methods of
administration on payment of a tribute to the provincial govern-
ment. In the rest of the province Nasaq is said to have been cur-
rent. In all parts of the country there were exceptions and in some
of these, group assessment might have been practised.
The cultivator paid direct to the state. There were no zemin-
dars in the present sense of the term. The cultivators were owners
of the lands they cultivated. The prosperity of the state was bound
too much with the fate of agriculturists. There was enough
uncultivated land to satisfy the land hunger of would be cultivators
who were encouraged to break new lands by special low terms of
land revenue.
The land revenue was not a very just tax at the time. The
state singled out one class of producers alone for payment of a
general tax. The burden on the peasants was lighter in Akbar’s
feign than now though the state then got a larger share pf the gross
produce of the land than it does to-day.
Sri Ram Sharma
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ORIGINAL AUTHORITIES
Akbar Nama by Abul Fazl, A.S.B. edition of the Persian Text.
Am-i'Akbart t by Abul Fazl, A.S.B. edition of the Persian Text.
Muntkhib-ut'T awartkb by Abdul Qadir, Persian Text.
Tabaqat-i-Akbarl by Bakhshi Nizam-ud-Din, Persian Text.
Iqbal Nama-i-Jahangtri by Mutmid Khan, Lucknow edition of the complete work.
Tuzak-i-Jabangiri by Jahangir. Cawnporc edition of the Persian Text.
Badshah Nama by Tahir written in 1657. MS.
Badshah Nama by Quzvini, a contemporary account of Shah Jahans reign.
Persian MS.
Cahar-Caman-i-Brahman by Munshi Candar Bhan, an official who served under
Dara and Shah Jahan. MS.
Nigar Nama-iManshl, a collection of letters official and non-official mostly con-
cerning Aurangzcb’s reign.
Baharistan-i-Ghaibi by Mirza Nathan written under Shah Jahan. An English
abstract of its major portion has been published by the present writer in the
Journal, of Indian History, Madras and the Indian Historical Quarterly,
Calcutta. MS.
Safar Nama of Abdul Latif the Dewan of Bengal early in Jahangir’s reign. MS.
Mukhtasir by Bayazid. I have come across no man ir crip t in India and have used
Beveridge's abstract published in the JASB., in 1898.
Farhang-i-Kardani by Jagat Rai, a unique Manuscript in the Muslim University,
Aligarh, describing various systems of Land Revenue. It was written in 1690.
Dastur-ul-Amal, MS. in the State Library, Rampore, gives a description of the
various systems of Land Revenue Assessment in Mughal India under Shah
Jahan.
Chronicle of Mughal India by Palsacrt was completed in . Shah Jahan’s reign in
Dutch. I have used the English translation made by my friend Prof. Brij Narain.
736 Bibliography
MODERN WORKS
Revenue Resources of the Mughal Emperors , Thomas,
Akbar , The Great Mughal , by Smith.
Articles by Mr. Moreland: —
(i) ‘Akbar’s Land Revenue Assessment’ (in conjunction with Mr. Yusaf Ali).
(ii) ‘Land Revenue Administration of Bengal under Akbar.’
(iii) ‘Sher Shah’s Land Revenue Administration,’ Journal of the Royal Asrattc
Society , London.
Agrarian System of Muslim India by Mr. Moreland.
‘Sher Shah’s Administrative System’ by the present writer in the Indian Historical
Quarterly , December, 1936.
‘Nasaq as a System of Land Revenue Assessment under the Mughals’, by the present
writer, in Indian Culture , January, 1937.
The Bhulua Chiefs and their Literary Works
■The history of the Sura kings of Bhulua, who held sway over
the major portion of the district of Noakhali in Bengal for more than
three centuries, is still shrouded in legends and traditions.
According to local traditions, Raja Visvambhara Raya, a Ksatriya
prince of Mithila belonging to the Sura family of Vatsya-gotra,
migrated at the time of Bakhtiyar Khilji’s invasion along with his
preceptor and priest, a retinue of 200 soldiers and a fleet of
149 boat’s and, on his way back from the shrine of Candranatha in
Chittagong, founded the kingdom of Bhulua round a place, where
he romantically discovered the image of Varaht 1 in the year 610
B.E. ( sad-dasa-satabdiya-varse ). The family subsequently entered
into the fold of the kayastha community of Bengal. Bhulua up till
now contains a very large number of Sura families, 2 the more res-
pectable ones distinguishing their royal blood by a term Adisiira.
The recent attempt to connect this family of undoubted Maithila
origin with the legendary Adisura of Bengal is as misconceived as
it is unfounded. The traditional date of Visvambhara, as we shall
presently see, is not supported by any evidence. Visvambhara
probably migrated about the middle of the 14th century A.D. after
the conquest of Mithila by the Tughlak kings. The genealogy, at
any rate, cannot place him before the 14th century. 3
Nothing is known about the immediate successors of Visvam-
bhara, who were practically independent rulers till the beginning
i The image is still worshipped as a Hindu goddess, though it is really a
fine specimen of the Buddhist Marici, and was removed to its present temple at
Amisapara by the last member of the royal family Rani Sasimukhi.
a Cf. the current Bengali saying: — *Sur suyar mandar /
tin e Bhulua andhar//’
3 The genealogy is as follows: — Visvambhara, Ganapati, Surananda Khan,
$rirama Khan, Kavicandra Khan, Rajavallabha.
738 The Bhulua Chiefs and their Literary Works
of the 1 6th century. Bhulua does not form a part of the extensive
conquests of the Tippera king Dhanyamanikya (1490-1526) and is
for die first time mentioned in the chronicles of Tippera in the reign
of Devamanikya (1526-1536) who extended his dominion over
Bhulua. 4 It was probably Raja Rajavallabha Raya who suffered de-
feat at the hands of the Tippera king. Rajavallabha’s eldest son
was Durlabhanarayana whose conflict with the Tippera kings is
narrated in detail in the Rajamala. 5 Durlabha, who admitted that
he was a Zemindar under Vijayamanikya (1536-1567), rose in rebel-
lion against the usurper Udayamanikya (1568-1573), whom he
successfully defied by assuming himself the very name of the
usurper. 6 He was thus the first Sura chief to appropriate the in-
dependent title of Manikya which was not given up till the last.
In the reign of the powerful monarch Amaramanikya (1577-86) of
Tippera, Durlabha was peremptorily asked to give up the title of
‘Manikya’ which he refused to do and in 1578 the armies
of Tippera overran Bhulua. Durlabha fled to Bakla where he was
killed by Kandarpa Raya. 7
4 Rajamala: Vidyavinoda’s ed. p. 123. Devamanikya’s coins, recently dis-
covered, contain the date 1448 Saka. We arc indebted to Dr. Bhattasali for this
information.
5 Ibid., pp. 187.88. It is a pity, vol. Ill of the Royal ed. of the Rajamala
containing this important chapter of the chronicle, though completely printed, is
rotting, now for about a decade, with the book-binder, due to the almost criminal
apathy of the Agartala authorities. The discovery of coins of Vijayamanikya
dated 1458 Saka and of Jayamanikya dated 1495 Saka, both examined by us, settles
the dates of these monarchs more accurately.
6 I (Old Rajamala in Ms.). The printed Raja-
mala which is the so-called ‘revised 5 * version of Ujir Durgamani is full of mistakes
here as elsewhere.
7 to fcpi 1
* * # *
^ c*t*i 1
TO’fatS 'StftC* Hfflm « {RajamalS in, Ms.).
The Bhulua Chiefs and their Literary Works
Durlabha or Udayamanikya was succeeded by his younger
brother Gandharvamanikya who had a glorious reign. He, also,
rose in rebellion against Yasomanikya (1600-23) of Tippera who
brought hirn to submission. Fortunately, there are glowing
panegyrics on him in the drama Kautuka-ratnakara (vv. 7-10),
which mostly refer to his military exploits 8 9 : —
^
snswrcfon' 5 fr^T 1
MdlH'lfg: 5RRT II
^ srofo gfa sac'll
11
By Act XIX of 1793, .article 25, all owners of revenue-free
lands were required to produce their original deeds ( sanads ) and have
them duly registered and copies of several hundreds of them are
still preserved in the Tippera Collectorate.' 1 Among these uncared
for and ill-preserved records we came across a copy of what appears
to be the only copper-plate inscription discovered in the district of
Noakhali, referring to the reign of Gandharvamanikya. It was pro-
duced in April 1796 when Bhulua was included in the Tippera
district and as the original plate remains yet untraced we give below
8 Ms. No. 41 of tlie Agartala Palace Library, fol. 2. We are indebted to
the late Mr. Kaliprasanna Sen for facilities to examine the manuscript. Cf. also
Eggeling: Ind. Office Cat . of Sans. Mss., p, 1618.
9 We thankfully acknowledge here the debt we owe to the Collector of
Tippera for kindly allowing us facilities for examining these interesting records.
740 The Bhulua Chiefs and their Literary Works
the text of the inscription as restored by us from the imperfect
transcript made by an ordinary clerk. (No. 1912 of Sanad
Register).
sfls? ( ? ar ) tem* ^*1
tfwr it 1 ^rrfiw«Rft#T JTSTTrfcqw ^ 11
^^’T^trrfio^^^'rRnTfTcJRT 1 qm fqf^ 5 rrfa«r: fq§: qfqffinqS 11
qpTFftqqrcte^rr 1 qfera (?) qreft
qpraqst flwi4ta*3 >rftn#: (? ?) (? ?) m v$W-
rnimurz mwm-- qg^iw cfa 1 q^*' 11 qqr qqr
q*q qqr ct^tt qq.qrjftq qpq 1 wq: ft^HT (=q) w sqm fqfqq-
^sf: qRqi^qT ll m? 11 m^fit t^rtt mfoffi q: 1 qfsffoiSTfqr
fqgiqt srrqtl 11 ffa <1*0^
inhere was apparently no separate royal seal attached to the plate
as the name of the grantor Sri-sriyuta Gandharvamanikyadevasya
is found written in the copy on the upper left side of the inscription,
while on the corresponding right side is the name Srila-Srimanta-
rayasya (apparently of his chief minister) The topographical por-
tion of the inscription (verse 5) is quite unintelligible. In
the corresponding Persian extract of the statement submitted by the
owners in 1796 along with the copper-plate, also preserved in the
Tippera Collectorate, the measurement of the lands is stated to be
3 Dronas and 14 Kants in total, comprised in 6 villages of the Bhu-
lua Pargana viz. Kajihata, Jayanarayanapur, Krsnaramapur, Rama-
candrapur, Raghudevapur and Mahesapur. A comment is
necessary on the date of the inscription, it is 403 of an era which
is referred to by a single consonant V. The Persian extract men-
tioned above gives the date clearly as ‘San 403 Parganati’. This
Parganati eta was in regular use in Bhulua and the adjacent Parga-
nas down to the end of the 18th century and we have examined
several of old documents using this era. Them are reasons to
The Bhulua Chiefs and their Literary Works 741
believe that it was originally a Kartfkadi year and started from
x 201-2 A.D. In Sarail Pargana of the Tippera district, where also
the era was in regular use, it started from 1 199 A.D. This era came
in course of time to be wrongly connected with the Bhulua Pargana
alone and confused with the date of foundation of the kingdom by
V lsvambhara. In one Bengali Ms. the era is referred to as “Pargane
Bhulua San. 487. ” lu The present inscription is one of the earliest
records using the Pargandti era. A Ms. of Durgasimha’s Kdtantra-
vrtti-tika (in possession of the present writer) is earlier still and is
thus dated “ subhamastu Sakabddh j /1451/ / t-sam 327 / / v iterikha
7 Agrabhayanika .” Here also the era is distinguished by a single ‘
and provides an equation according to which the date of the copper-
plate falls in 1605 A.D. Moreover, this earlier date (corresponding
to 1529 A.D.) falls definitely before the Bengali era which came
into use in Akbar’s time and probably points to a fact that the
Parganati era was the current local era in parts of Bengal before at
was supplanted by the Bengali era.
The issue of copper-plates is a rare privilege enjoyed by inde-
pendent monarchs and prompts us in the present case to conclude
that it was Gandharvamanikya, a contemporary of Isa Khan,
Kedara Raya and other independent chiefs of , Bengal, who was
counted among the ‘twelve Bhuiyas’ and not his son Laksmana-
manikya. Gandharva’s encounter with the Tippera king probably
took place after 1605 and he was soon after succeeded by his nephew
Anantamanikya, the son of Udayamanikya. 11 Ananta was defeated
by the conquering armies of Islam Khan in 1611-12 A.D. as narrat-
10 Corresponding to 1611 Saka. Bengali Ms. No. 2025 of the Dacca Uni-
vcrsity : vide, Sahitya Parisat Patrika 3 1334 P* x ^3
11 There is considerable divergence of views regarding the relationship of
Anantamanikya, According to one table he was a younger brother of Candharva,
according to another he was the eldest son of Gandharva i.e. a brother of Laks-
tnana. We accept above the view of his direct descendants who survive in a
village of the Tippera district.
DECEMBER, 1938
It
, The Bhulua Chiefs and their Literary Works
ed in the Baharistan-i-Ghaibi. Not long after the conquest of
Bhulua by Islam Khan the Pargana was divided into three parts per-
haps in the life time of Laksmanamanikya and settled with the
ancestors of the Zemindar families of Khilpara, Dattapara and
Maijdi. Only a small jaigir, subsequently known as “Taraf
Gopalanagara,” remained in possession of the ' Manikyas.’
Laksmanamanikya, the son of Gandharvamanikya, was the
successor of Ananta. He was reputed to have been a warrior of
uncommon physical strength, but he became the most renowned
prince of the family apparently for his attempting to revive the
belles-lettres in his kingdom. He granted lands to one Ramadasa
Cakravarti by a Sanad in Bengali, dated ioth Magha, 435 Parganati
(= 1637 A.D.), of which a copy exists in the Tippera Collcctorate
(No. 3049). He was thus living still in the second quarter of the
17th century. By an almost universal tradition he was one of the
twelve Bhiliyas of Bengal and as early as 1791 C. W. B. Rouse in
his Dissertation concerning the Landed Property of Bengal (p. 50)
gathered that ‘Luckken Mamk of Beluah’ was among the five of
them who enjoyed the Zemindanes of Dacca. But, as we have seen
above, the son was shining in the glory of a forgotten father; or,
perhaps, the son had a large share in the military achievements of
the father. Acceding to a well-founded tradition current in
Bhulua, Laksmatla emulated his name-sake of the independent
Sena dynasty of Bengal by adorning his court with ‘five jewels’
( Pancaratna ). The foremost of t'he jewels was one Raghunatha Kavi-
tarkika of Srirampur and the names of the remaining four, a? far as
we gather, are as follows: — Ramacandra Tarkapancanana of Khil-
para, his son Ramabhadra Sarvabhauma, Ratideva Tarkasiddhanta of
Bais-sindur (a cousin of Ramacandra) and Ratnesvara Vidyavagisa,
son of Kavitarkika. Kavitarkika was by far the most renowned of
them all and was by tradition the genius behind the poetical works
passing in his patron’s name.
743
The Bhulua Chiefs and their Literary Works
Kavitarkika, who, as his title shows, combined dialectics with
the poesy, has left a small farcical drama in Sanskrit passing in
his own name the Kautukaratnakara. The plot has been
summarised by Eggeling in his Catalogue (p. 1618). The poet,
however, has given in the prologue to his drama glowing descrip-
tions of the capital of Bhulua, exploits of his patron’s father (which
we have cited above), panegyrics of his great patron and of his own
father. He has not hesitated to extol Laksmana in the highest
terms as a poet: —
w f? srfjRTT
sraTHT f^r^rrr ^rr < v - 15 >
Laksmanamanikya is credited with the composition of a large
number of poetical works in Sanskrit. It is written in the prologue
to his Vikhyatavijaya : — 12
JTfTOfifoRftsrT snpjgw&rl ^r«rrfq- faftre-
irm zjzd. *?«rrfsr?r i
At present besides the Vikhyatavijaya only one more drama of
his has been traced, so far as tve know, the Prasannakuvalayasva in 9
Acts on the love story of Kuvalayasva and Madalasa. 12 It appears
from another verse in the prologue to the Vikhyatavijaya that
Laksmana partly inherited his literary talents from his own
ancestors : —
Sf5rf^f Sffcf ffaTfa I
12 We quote from a copy of the drama in Ms. dated 1696 Saka in our own
possession. Cf. H. P. Sastri : Notices of Sans. Mss., If, pp. 160-62.
13 H. P. Sastri; Notices of Sans . Mss., IV, No. 60.
744
The Bhulua Chiefs and their Literary Works
The V ik hyatavijaya, a drama in 6 Acts on the story of Arjuna’s
conflict with Kama, was his masterpiece and was fairly popular in
some of the eastern districts of Bengal. It is an imitation of the
V enisamhara and reflects great credit on the author’s poetical talents
in an age of decay. The royal author had the supreme satisfaction
of staging the drama at the historic site of Kuruksetra before an
assembly of royal princes from different parts of India and the tradi-
tion still survives at Bhulua that the author himself played the Tole of
Kama. The martial spirit of the independent chiefs of Bengal lived
through this representative piece of literature. The second Act con-
taining superb passage-at-arms between Kama and Salya on the one
hand and Nakula on the other is justly considered to be the best part
of the drama. The classical style has been throughout adopted
successfully, though phrases like and
I (both from Kama’s lips in Act II) are fully re-
miniscent of the prevailing tendencies of his age when there was an
overflow of Navya-nyaya studies in Bengal.
The following reference in the prologue to kavitarkika ?.
Kautuka-ratnakara proves that Laksmanamanikya also wrote a work
named Satkavya-ratnakara (Ocean of bright poems) for the recrea-
tion of the over-strung intellects of the schoolmen : —
ii < v - 17 >
It is apparently from this lost work of his that Kavitarkika cited
this verse in the same prologue: —
<r«rr ft ''^wrr: sraw '• 1
3«f *T$7T: TfteT - - I 23 >
Laksmanamanikya was succeeded in his dominion by his eldest
son Dhanyamanikya, whose immediate younger brother named
The Bbulua Chiefs and their Literary Works 745
Candramanikya wrote a century o£ gnomic verses called Apade'sa-
satakam. The first two verses are as follows: — 14
fen# 1
et3%Sq^raRPB tfrtP3?TT%Rgq: l|^
Candramanikya proves himself a worthy son of his poet-father and
some of his stanzas are refreshing and vigorous. We cite a typical
stanza below : —
^Rifftr Ft? ipfrjPTfa yj^-JTct ?shr 1
'T**r f wk ^ vrwnjsjr 11 v - 36 •
Both- Dhanyamanikya and Candramanikya were childless and the
third son of Laksmana named Vijayamanikya succeeded to the
Jaigir; he is not known to have left any literary work. He was
succeeded by his fourth and youngest brother Amaramanikya who
was the last great poet of the family. He emulated his distin-
guished father by writing a drama named Vaikuntha-vijaya on the
loves of Usa and Pradyumna; 1 ' it was written when his brother
Dhanyamanikya was still reigning. To remove all doubts about
the identity of the latter prince, it should be mentioned here that
he is definitely stated in the prologue to the Vaikuntha-vijaya to be
the son and successor of Laksmanamanikya. Amaramanikya made
large gifts of lands to Brahmins and several of his Sanads are referred
to in old records. There is a copy of a Sanad in Bengali preserved
in the T.ippera Collectorate (No. 1070) by which ‘Sri-sriyuta Raja
Amaramanikya’ made a gift of land to one Manohara Sarma on 3rd
Caitra, 494 Parganati (corresponding to 1696-97 A.D.). He died
in the first decade of the 18th century and was succeeded by his son
14 Wc quote from a Ms. copy of the work belonging to our own family
collection.
icj H. P. Sastri. Notices of Sans . Mss., IV, No. 283.
746 The Bhttltta Chiefs and their Literary Works
Ramamanikya who also died soon after. The last scion of the family
was a son of Vijayamanikya named Rudramanikya who was a born
invalid and the estate was efficiently managed by his wife Rani Sasi-
mukhi whose ability and virtues are still fondly remembered in
Bhulua. Copies of several of her land-grants are found in the
Tippera Ccllectorate. One of them is dated 10th Magha, 534
Parganati . 1<1 She retired soon after to Benares and with her death
the royal line of the Sura family became extinct.
Dinesh Chandra Bhattacharyya
16 No. 2553 of the Sanad Register : the grantee was one Nilakantha
Cakravarti.
' Identification of some Ancient Indian Place-Names*
Devasabha-Dewas
Rajasekhara, in his Kavyamimamsa, summarily indicates the
five divisions of India by naming four towns viz., Baranasi, Mahis-
mati, Devasabha and Prthudaka as the respective limits of the
Eastern, Southern, Western and Northern divisions, the tract lying
between these four places being described by him as the middle
division (Madhyadesa). There is no doubt about the location of the
first, second and fourth of these towns; but with regard to that of the
third, there is a great deal of uncertainty. S. N. Mazumdar Sastri
makes the following remark about it in his notes to his edition of
Cunningham’s Ancient Geography of India (p. 690): ‘Devasabha
is a city on a mountain (not identified) referred to in Arthasastra as
producing red sandal.’ In the first and second editions of the
Kavyamimamsa no suggestion is made about its identification; but
in the third edition of the same (revised and enlarged by K. S.
Ramaswami Sastri Siromani) we are told that ‘Devasabha may be
identified with the mountainous parts of either the Dewas State or
Udaipur where the Dhebar lake is situated.’ 1 Several considera-
tions lead one to lend support to the former of the two suggestions.
First, there is a great deal of similarity in the two name forms.
Dewas is the name of the curious twin states situated in the Malwa
Agency, political charge of the Central India Agency, lying roughly
between 22°24'N. and It is also the name of the
capital of these states; the author of tfhe Western States (Malwa)
Gazetter (vol. V, pt. A) informs us that the states as well as their
capital derive their name from the hill of Dewas, probably a con-
traction of Devi vasini, which stands close to the capital. In the
# Read in the second session of the Indian History Congress at Allahabad,
October 1938. *
1 Kavyamimamsa , 3rd. ed., Appendix I, p. 294.
748 Identification of some Ancient Indian Place-Names
Imperial Gazetteer , vol. XI (p. 281), we are informed that Dewas
town is situated between 22° 58^. and 76° 4T:., 1784 ^ eet a ^° ve
sea-level, on the Bombay-Agra road, 24 miles from, Lahore, and it
lies at the foot of a conical hill, known as Camunda Pahad. A
reference to the Kavyamimamsa will show that Devasabha was not
only the name of one of the janapadas of the western division ( Pascad -
desah) but was also the name of one of the hills of the same. Mazum-
dar Sastri’s remark quoted above, that Devasabha is a city on a
mountain does not follow from Rajasekhara’s description of it. But
what is of importance here is that as Devasabha is the name of a
town, a janapada as well as a hill, so also is modern Dewas which is
not only a town but also the twin states as well as a hill. Another
interesting factor to be noted in this connection is the marked simi-
larity between the descriptions of the various janapadas of the western
division in relation to Devasabha as recorded in the Kavyamimamsa
and the same of the modern towns and districts identifiable with
some of them, in relation to Dewas. The constituents of this divi-
sion are mentioned thus: Devasabha-Surastra-Daseraka-Travana-
BhrgHkaccha-Kacchiy-Anartt-Arvudd-Brabmanavaha-Yavana ; with
the exception of a very few in this list, all the others have been identi-
fied correctly with modern place-names. A reference to a good
atlas will show that all these are to be placed to the immediate west,
south-west or ncrth-west of modern Dewas. It may be observed
here that Rajasekhara’s naming of these janapadas does not seem to
be in correct order, though it is certainly not so mixed up as the
enumeration of tihe various constituent countries of the different
divisions of India by the author of the Brhatsamhita . The problem
2 Surastra = Surat We know from the Ghatiyala inscription of the Pratihara
king Kakkuka that he attained a great renown in such countries as Trayant (referred
to in Matakisal inscription as Tamani; the Jodhpur inscription of Pratihara Bauka
also mentions Travani) Valla, Mada (Jaisalmer) etc. Arbuda— Mount Abu. Brahmana-
vaha»== Brahmanabad in Sind. Yavana=the tract further up the Indus valley,
probably acquiring this name from the long settlement of the Greeks in this region.
Identification of some Ancient Indian Place-Names 749
of this identification could be further satisfactorily solved if one
could refer to the antiquarian remains of Dewas, if any, and if it
could be shown that among the products of the Dewas states could
be included some form of red sandal. 3
Indrapura-Svetavatalaya, B him a- B h is an a, Sivapura-Siva
in the Kdpisa-Gandhdra Region.
, Indrapura has correctly been identified with Indor (Khera); the
Indor copper-plate inscription of Skandagupta dated in the Gupta
Year 146 records ‘a perpetual endowment, by a Brahmin named
Devavisnu, for the purpose of maintaining a lamp in a temple of
the sun at Indrapura or Indrapura, i.e. the modern Indor, which is
now the name of a large and lofty mound about 5 miles to the
N. W. of Dibhai in the Bulandshahr district, U.P. But another
Indrapura can be located far away from the Indor of Bulandshahr,
in the Kapisa region (of modern Kafinstan) to the extreme north-
west of India. In the Ada k f^nayuri list of the Yaksas, the titulary
divinities of particular localities of India, we are informed in verse
29, that Indra was the Yaksa of Indrapura. This Indrapura is
mentioned along with such well-known localities of the extreme
north-west of India such as Varnu, Gandhara, Taksasila and
Chardasaila, J and thus will have to be identified with some place in
that region. Now, Hiuen Tsang informs us that about forty It
(roughly 6 to 7 miles) south from the capital of Kapisa was situated
the city of St-pi-to-fa-la-tzu. Julien suggested Spbitavaras and
St. Martin Svetavaras as the Sanskrit base of this Chinese name-
form. Watters appends the following interesting note to this
passage of Hiuen Tsang, The last character sse cr tzu is
3 Daivasabheyam raktam padmagandhi (candanam)-, Kaudlya, Arthasastra)
P- 7 8 -
4 Journal Asiatique, 191 5 > P* 3 °*
5 Correctly identified by Sten Konow widi Chadas'ila mentioned as a place-
name in the copper-plate inscription of the year 134, found in the course of exca-
vations .at Kalawan, near Taxila. Epigraphia Indica, vol. XXI, p. 253.
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
12
750 Identification of some Ancient Indian Place-Names
probably a Chinese word in the sense of temple.’ The other charac-
ter may stand for Svetavat one of the epithets of Indra the god who
rides a white elephant. Thus, the name of the city would be
Svetavatalaya, the Abode or Shrine of Indra. 0 On the basis of
Watters’ interpretation of the Chinese name for a suburban city of
Kapisa, we would propose to identify it with Indrapura mentioned
in the Mahamayuri. Numerous instances can be quoted in which
the same locality is described under various names which are syno-
nymous in character; thus, Hastinapura, the capital of the Kurus,
is referred to in indigenous literature in various ways such as Gaja-
sahvaya, Nagasahvaya; Pataliputra, the capital of the Magadhan
empire, as Kusumapura, Kusumadhvaja and Puspapura. 6 7 8 This pro-
posed identification can be further supported by the evidence of the
interesting coin device showing Indra enthroned in the manner of
Zeus, but with the full or partial representation of his mount
Atravata before him, described in the coin-legend as ICavisiye nagara
devata, used by Eukratides and a few Bactrian Greek and Scythian
rulers of India in this region. This particular numismatic datum
shows that Indra was the titulary deity of this place and thus effect-
ively supplements the information supplied to us by Hiucn Tsang,
as also the author of the Mahamayuri!' T. hus, this Indrapura-
Svetavatalaya is to be located very near the capital city of ancient
Kapisa, which has been located by Cunningham near modern
Charikar, about 45 to 50 miles north of Kabul.
In the same Mahamayuri list of the Yaksas, we are told in verse
28 that Siva was the Yaksa of Sivapurahara and Sivabhadra was the
one of Bhisana ( Sivah Sivapurabare Sivabhadrasca Phisane).
6 Watters, Yuan Chwang, vol. I, p. 129.
7 Dr. Fleet mentions the interesting practice of the Pandits in reference to
sampgaum and Ugar gol in the Belgaum district as Ahipura and Nakhapura;
Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum , vol. Ill, p. 79, f.n. 2.
8 For my detailed observations on this coin device, cf. Indian Historical
Quarterly , vol. XIV, 1938, Winternitz Number, pt. I. pp. 95-99.
Identification of some Ancient Indian Place-Names 751
Sivapurahara, i.e., the a bar a (an administrative district) of Sivapura
has not been identified. Syivain Levi rightly refers to the passage
in the Mahabhasya on Panini, IV, 2, 3, which mentions Sivapura
as a village of the north (Udicyagrama). 9 But this does not help us
in definitely fixing the locality. Cunningham noted in his -account
of Shorkot that according to the local Brahmins, the original name
of the place was Sivanagari or Sheopur (Sivapura), which was gradu-
ally contracted to Shor. 10 We could have attempted to identify
with some justification the Sivapura of the Mahamayiiri with
modern Shorkot on the basis of this local tradition recorded by
Cunningham. But the latter will be topographically too far from
the possible location of the Sivapura of the text and as Vogel has
rightly shown from the Shorkot inscription (engraved round the
neck of a metal cauldron) of the Gupta period (83 Gupta era) that
the ancient name of Shorkot was Sibipura, the site of the capital of
the well known ancient Indian tribe of the Sibis. 11
So, we shall have to seek for the sites of Sivapura and Bhlsana
far towards the north-west. Now, here also Hiuen Tsang comes to
our aid. We learn from his Si-yu-ki (that section of Oman- II
which deals with his peregrinations in Gandhara), that he visited
the shrine of Bhima-devi, the consort of Isvara-deva (Siva) which
was situated on the top of a high mountain about 50 li or so to the
•north-east (should be east-north-east) of Po-lu-sha, modern
Shabazgarhi. Foucher correctly identified the Bhimadeviparvatia
with the lofty peak of Karamar, 1030 metres high about 39 to 40
li east of Shahbazgarhi. 12 The Chinese traveller further informs us
9 Journal Asiatique, 1915, p. 70.
10 Archaeological Survey Report , vol. V, p. 97,
u Epigraphia Indica , XVI, 1921, p, 16. The identification of Shorkot
with the capital town of the Sivis, based on epigraphic data, finds corroboration
from the classical source. Curtius definitely locates the town of the Siboi (Sibis) not
far from the confluence of the Hyclaspcs and the Akesincs a position very nearly
agreeing with that of Shorkot.
IZ Foucher, Notes on the Geography of Gandhara , p. 33. The Chinese pil-
75 2 Identification of some Ancient Indian Place-Names
that! there was a self-wrought image (Svayambhumurti) of dark blue
stone of the goddess in the shrine on the summit and “at the foot
of the mountain was a temple dedicated to Mahesvara-deva in which
the ash-smearing Tirthikas (evidently the Pasupatas) performed
much worship.” That these two shrines were very important ones
in the seventh century A.D. and had long history before that period
is fully proved by Hiuen Tsang’ s explicit statement that they were
‘great resorts of devotees from all parts of India’. Moreover, their
importance is further substantiated by the fact that Hiuen Tsang
went out of his way to pay visits to these places which were in no
way connected with Buddhism. In the Mahabharata, we find a
reference to a tirtha named Bhimasthana beyond Pancanada, in the
account of the various sacred places of India in the following lines :
(here tato means from Pancanada)
$rrc*rr 3 I n
^rr: gwt *f%TF5R; I
*T3T Siatfa JTTJpf: 13
This Bhimasthana of the Mahabharata beyond Pancanada is evi-
dently identical with the Bhima-devI shrine of Hiuen Tsang; what
additional information we gather from this extract is that in the
shrine was also situated the Yonitirtha, a dip into its kunda being
regarded as highly auspicious in character. 14 Now, this Bhima-*
sthana can justifiably be identified with the Bhisana of the Maha-
mayuri text, (the terms being synonymous, a few observations made
grim's 50 li is in excess of 10 or 11 li; this excessive estimate has satifactorily been
accounted for by Foucher.
13 Mahabharata , Calcutta edition, Vanaparva, Ch. 82, Verses 84-5.
14 Nandalal Dey in his Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval
India, 2nd edition, also notes the identity of Bhimasthana of the epic with the
Bhimadevi shrine of the Chinese pilgrim, and finds a reference to the same shrine
in the Padma Parana, Svarga Khanda, ch. 11, But he did not utilise the useful
information supplied to us by Foucher in definitely locating this shrine, and thus
hts indentification of it with Takht-i-Bahai is evidently incorrect.
Identification of some Ancient Indian Place-Names
753
previously by me in connection with the location of Indra-pura in
the north-west also applying in this case) and the Sivapura of the
latter may be located at the foot of the hill. Foucher offers a very
interesting suggestion that in the name of the present village of
Shewa not very far from the foot of Karamar peak one may find
the reference to the shrine of Mahesvara deva (Siva) mentioned by
the Chinese pilgrim. It' is our further suggestion that this modern
site also marks the ancient one of Sivapura. It may well be pre-
sumed that populous cities once grew up round these shrines and
the way in which the author of the Buddhist text refers to these
localities leaves little doubt that these were contiguous to one
another. It is true that there is no reference to the goddess Bhima
in the Mahamayuft ; but it must be observed that the author refers
only to the titulary gods in bis long list and those of Bhisana and
Sivapura are one and the same, referred to as Siva in the case of
Sivapura and Sivabhadra in the case of Bhisana. 16
Po-Fa-T o-Parvata
Hiuen Tsang tells us in his Si-yu-ki that he went north-east-
wards for above 700 li from Mou-lo-san-pu-lu (almost unanimously
identified with Multan) to the Po-fa-to country. The identification
of this country has taxed the scholarship of many indologists but
up till now no satisfactory solution of this problem has been arrived
at. A brief summary of the various suggestions by a number of
15 Foucher, of. cit., p. 36.
1 6 It will not be out of place to note here that die epic reference to Bhima-
sthana and its Yonitirtha as well Hiuen Tsang’s mention of Bhimadevi, her
Svayambhumurti and the shrine of Siva is of outstanding interest and importance
from the religious point of view. We know Yonitirtha is now situated at Kamakhya
near Gauhati in Assam and her particular Bhairava is Umananda a few miles dis-
tant from the Devi shrine there on the top of the hill. In the early centuries of
the Christian era there was a similar Devi shrine in the heart of ancient Gandhara
with the adjacent shrine of die Bhairava (Siva). Again, the sclLwrought image of
Bhima of the place can be profitably compared with the principal object of vene-
ration in the Kamakhya shrine, which though the public are not allowed to see
it uncovered, seems to be also a virgin rock without any particular shape or form,
754 Identification of some Ancient Indian Place-Names
scholars is given here along with some additional observations
of mine. Cunningham at first emended -po-fa-to of the D
text of Si-yn-ki (the po-lo-fa-to of other texts) into So-lo-fa-to
and located its capital at Shorkot. But he subsequently gave
up this view and placed it at Harappa in the Montgomery
district of the Punjab. This latter suggestion of his was
accepted by Dr. Fleet. V. A. Smith, in his notes on the iti-
nerary of Hiuen Tsang appended to Watter s On Yuan Chwang,
volume II, suggested that Po-fa-to indicated the region of
Jammu, in the Kashmir State as at present constituted. Mazumdar
Sastri remarks that ‘as Jummu is about 250 miles away from
Multan, the identification cf Smith cannot be accepted.’
Po-fa-to has rightly been assumed to be based on the Sanskrit
Parvata, an early reference to which has been correctly found in
Panini, iv. 2, 143. The author of the Mudraraksasa speaks of
one Malayaketu, the son of Parvataka, and the king of Parvata
desa which is presumably the same country as Po-fa-to ' 1 In the
Ghatiyala inscription of the Pratihara king Kakkuka wc are told that
he obtained great renown in the countries of Travani, Valla and
Mada, amongst the Aryas, in Gurjjararatra, in the Lata desa and
in Parvata. 18 This Parvata is evidently the sanie as the Chinese
17 A few round copper coins with a bull on the obverse and a few symbols
and a legend Pavatasa in early Brahmi’ characters of the 2nd century B.C. on the
reverse were found by Cunningham at Kausambi, modern Kosam, near Allahabad;
the form of the coin- legend does not nece sarily prove that Parvata was the name
of a person; it may as well be the name of a locality. But then the definite loca-
tion of these coins at Kosam by Cunningham would militate against its being
equated with Hiuen Tsang’s Po-fa-to.
18 Epigraphia Indica, vol, IX, pp. 278-80. D. R. Bhandarkar who edited this
inscription there, translated the passage — Yena prapta mahakhyatis tvavanyam valla -
madayoh 1 Aryesu Gurj'ararattrayarh Latadese ca Parvvate — as ‘great renown obtained
by whom in the countries of Travani, Valla and Mada r amongst (the people known
as) Arya, in Gurjjararattra and in Parvata in the Lata country.’ But he correctly
translated it in his List of North Indian Inscriptions , p. 7, where in a footnote he
suggests that Parvata is perhaps identical with Po-fa-to mentioned by Hiuen Tsang.
Identification of some Ancient Indian Place-Names 755
pilgrim’s Po-fa-to; from this epigraphic datum it may be observed
that the locality could not be far removed from the zone of activities
of the Pratihara king Kakkuka, and thus would lend some support
to Cunningham’s second identification endorsed by Fleet. The
latest reference to Parvata we find in a 15th or 16th century A.D.
inscription engraved on the upper part of the face of a pillar of the
stone railing at Bodh-Gaya. The epigraphic record informs us that
one sage Jinadasa hailing from Parvata (Parvatadagata Pandita
Jinadasa) was responsible for some benefaction to the Bodh-Gaya
shrine. B. M. Barua thinks that this Parvata may be the same as
the Chinese traveller’s Po-fa-to , but this identification also, if accept-
ed, docs not help us in fixing its location. 1 ' 1
Simhala, a place in the Deccan
J. C. Ghosh and M. V. Kibe discussed the problem of locating
Lanka-Siriihala somewhere on the border of or adjacent to the
Madhyadcsa of the Buddhists.' 0 Watters, also drew the attention of
scholars to the probability of locating the Chih-shih-tzu kuo or
Simhala country mentioned by Hiuen Tsang in connection with his
observations about the legend of Deva Pusa and Gangadvara in
India, preferably South India/ 1 There is a tradition recorded in
the bardic tales of Mewar that Ratansimha, ruler of Mewar, married
Padmini, the daughter cf Hanur Sankh of Simhala (cf. Padumdvat),
this Simhala was identified with Ceylon by Todd (Annals, vol. I)
, ig. B. M. Barua, Bodh Gaya , vol. II, p. 73*
20 Indian Historical Quarterly , vol. V, pp. 355-6; Annals of the Bhandarkar
Oriental Research Institute, vol.XVII, pp. 371 ff.; Ibid., vol. XIX, pi. I, pp. 84-86.
A locality somewhere near Amarakantaka, a place near Danioh in C.P. will mark
the ancient site of Lanka— Simhala according to Kibe and Ghosh respectively.
21 On Yuan Chwang, vol. I, p. 3 21 ' f^e Obih-Shihtzu Kuo or Simhala
country o£ this passage has been taken to be Ceylon, the country generally so
designated, but it may be here the name of a country in India. Yuan Chwang,
as will be seen hereafter, probably knew that Deva was a native of South India and
not of Ceylon.” See also in this connection /HQ., VIII, pp. 99-100; IX, pp. 742,
745, 972L; X, pp. 138b, 368L, 780L
756 Identification of some Ancient Indian Place-Names
as well as Gauri Sankar Ojha (Rajputneka Itibas ). Ojha discredits
the story of Ratansimha’s marriage with Padmini on the ground
that the Raja of Mewar could not have married the daughter of one
Hamir Saqkh who could not have ruled over Ceylon. S. C. Dutt
in a Bengali article recently published in one of the issues of the
monthly Bengali Journal, Vicitra , has shown on the authority of a
manuscript entided Udepur rajavamsavali, finished about 1840 A.D.
and now in the possession of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal,
that there was a Simhala situated in Western India. We read in
the folio 10 of the same manuscript: —
'ttct
1
Dutt thinks that this Samaladvipa is to be located in the
kingdom of Anahilwara Patan in Kathiwar Peninsula. 21 Rajasekhara
includes Simhala among the various constituent janapadas of the
Daksinapatha, such as Mabarastra Adahisaka Asmaka Vidarbha
Kuntala Kratba Kaisika Surparaka Kanci Kerala Kaveramurala
Vanavasaka Simhala Codadandaka Pandyapallava Gahga Nasikya
Kausika Kollagirivallara. The editor of the Kavyamimamsa (third
edition) in the Appendix I of the work distinguishes Simhala from
Lanka and identifies the former with Ceylon while locating the latter
island, on the eastern side of the Peninsula beyond Travancore. But
the express mention of Simhala by Rajasekhara among the various
countries of the Daksinapatha would preclude its location outside
the Deccan Peninsula.
Jitendra Nath Banerjea
21 Prof. S. C Dutt has kindly supplied me with all this information about
Samala-Simhala. Now, Patan of the manuscript may also be identified with the
modem locality of Patan near Jubbulpore where a sati record dated in 1361 V.S.
was found; Hiralal pointed out that at about 1308 A.D*, portions of the Damoh
and Jubbulpore districts were being governed by a Maharajaputra Vaghadeva, a
Parihara chief under the suzerainty of the Chauhaiia kings. Epigrdpkta Indica,
vol. XVI, p. n. Mr. J. C. Ghosh has kindly drawn my attention to this reference.
%2 Kavyamimamsa, 3rd edition, p. 93.
Raja Ramnarain
III
Robert Orme, a fellow councillor and friend of Clive, and the
contemporary English historian of Hindustan, writes that Aliwardi
had adopted a deliberate policy “of preferring the services of the
Hindus in every office of dignity of the state, excepting the ranks of
the army for which neither they wished nor were fit; 91 and seemed to
regard the increase of their wealth as his own.” Among his special
favourites were Rai Durlabh or Durlabh Ram and the opulent Seth
brothers “whom he admitted to his innermost secret councils.” Most
of us know the part played by these people in the overthrow of one
whom their benefactor loved more than his own life. The same
cannot be said about the Hindu officers in Bihar, specially Raja Janki
Ram and his successor, Raja Ram Narain. They present a decidely
favourable contrast and to them is truly applicable the remark of,
Orme that the “Gentoos (Hindus) did not ever deceive their bene-
factor but co-operated to strengthen his administration.” 92 We
shall find, for example, that Raja Ram Narain not only tried to
carry out, to his utmost, the injunctions of his master, commu-
nicated through the Parwanah of his appointment received on the
15th Rabi I of 4th year of accession i.e. 1752, 9J but he alone
remained faithful to his grandson when practically everyone else
had turned against him in 1757.
It was, according to Seyar ,** in recognition of his devotedness
and old services, specially the ability he exhibited in clearing up
* Continued from p. 95, vol. XIV.
91 Orme, History of Indosthan , II, 53. This remark is too sweeping to be
accepted or to be even seriously considered. We find even a member of the writer
class being praised for his prowess by a veteran like Knox (S.M., 687). Raja Ram
Narain was not wanting in courage and his gallantry in battle has been referred to
by Colonel Ironside (Hill’s Three Frenchmen in Bengal , p. 77 f.n.). His father,
Ranglal, died fighting for his master. Vide ante. 92 Orme, II, 53.
93 Dastur, 197b; 216. 15. 3. 1165=2. 2. 1752. 94 S.M., 593.
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938 13
758 Raja Ramnarain
his accounts of finance and in managing its receipts and expendi-
ture, that Raja Ram Narain was promoted to the high office of the
deputy governor of Bihar. The Parwanah of appointment, referred to
above, appears to have been issued on the 1 1 th of Rabi I 4th
year of accession, 95 (1165) which corresponds to January 29, 1752
and not the “beginning of the year 1166, i.e. end of 1752, as men-
tioned by the contemporary historian (S.M. 593). Besides the usual
accompaniment of a robe of honour, a gilded turban, sabre and
an elephant, 96 we find mention being made of the letters
of a Parwanah permitting the use of Murchal (fan)
Naubat (drum) and issued at the instance of, and delivered
by, Jagat Seth 97 (end of Rabi II year 4th). About six months after,
on the 2 1 st Ramzan, a fringed Palki, a special robe of honour, a
gilded head-dress and a sword with enamelled handle, sent by
Nawab Mansurul-Mulk, were respectfully received by the Raja in
the garden of Jafar Khan. 98
The above-mentioned Parwanah 99 enjoined upon the ‘prosper-
ous’ Raja Ram Narain “to consider himself as permanent Naib of
Nawab Mansurul-Mulk, (Siraj),” “manage the affairs of the
Nizamat in such a way as not to disturb the existing arrange-
ment, but to effect improvement thereupon and be ever straight in
95 Dastur, 197a, b, 21a. A letter addressed to Mirza Gholam Hussain Khan,
dated 7th Rabi I, year 4, informs him how Raja Ram Narain had already shouldered
the burden of the Niabat of the Subah “and begun to discharge his duties from
Diwan-i-'Am” (Dastur, 242a).
96 S.M., 593, 97 Dastur, 267a.
98 lbtd., 258a, 225b. Aliwardi exalted the Naib of Patna with the title of
“Maharaja.” Having held the rank of 1000 Zat the latter applied for and got
through Nawab Bahadur (Jawed Khan) and the Emperor’s mother the rank of 4000
Zat and 3000 horse together with the title of Bahadur and the permission to use
banner, drum and, fringed palki, as was the case with Janki Ram. Of course
Nazranah had to be presented to Nawab Bahadur and the Emperor’s mother and the
expenses of the Motsaddis had to be borne for the purpose (Dastur, 126b) 217-18.
99 Dastur, 21b.
Raja Ramnarain
759
dealing with the matters of revenue and government accounts and
kind and considerate in his treatment of the subjects and the
peasants.” The Raja in acknowledging it 1 00 respectfully notes down
the direction and adds that “as he had been performing the various
works even during the lifetime of the deceased Maharaja (Janki Ram),
now that he had himself been elevated to that office, it behoved
him to be much more active and energetic than before.” He
assures the Nawab that “through the grace of God the influence of
his Excellency s training would increase his honour.” In a letter
to Raja Durlabh Ram who, hi addition to his own duties, was to
act as an intermediary or Agent General of Bihar Government at
the court of Murshidabad for transacting every business that might
require a question and answer or any other discussion concerning
his administration of the province, 101 Raja Ram Narain writes how
he sent with Rasbehari, on the 17th of Rabi I, year 4th, (February 4,
1752) Hundis or bills of exchange worth 4 lacs of rupees, which he
found surplus in the treasury of Raja )anki Ram. This was followed*
by eight other bills of exchange, worth the same amount, and drawn
upon Mahta Sakhimal and Jagat Seth, for the year 5th of the acces-
sion, i.e. end of 1 752. The letter concludes as follows: — “Every-
thing here is the property of His Excellency, including myself, his
humble slave.” 102
In reply to a Parwanah, dated 4th Rabi, year 5th, offering,
if necessary, military reinforcements from Bengal for the regulation,
administration and realization of the revenue of the province of
Bihar, the Raja first pours forth his heart in gratitude, and then
adds that the good fortune of his illustrious master was his mainstay,
and that he would apply 103 for further help only when he had to
go outside to settle affairs and collect the revenue and found his
100 Dastur, 197b.
10 z Dastur, 196b.
101 S.M. , 593-94.
103 Ibid., 199a.
7 ^° Raja Ramnarain
own resources 101 inadequate for the task. Though in the beginning
we find him writing about the confusion 105 in the affairs of Bihar,
largely on account of the illness of Raja Janki Ram, his letter,
dated Ramzan and Zilhijja, year 5th of accession, i.e. August and
November, 1752 conveys the reassuring and welcome information:
“By the enternal good fortune of Your Excellency, the government of
this country is well-ordered and well-regulat'ed. The people are enjoy-
ing peace and order and are praying for the perpetuation of Your
Excellency’s protection.” 106 As directed, he sent the papers and
records of Raja Janki Ram’s government, 107 through Sohan Lai,
Serishtedar, on the 24th Zilhijja, year 5th and pleaded that the
delay had been due to the heavy rains and the consequent flood
which had blocked all passages to the garden of Jafar Khan where
they were kept. In fact, we find him faithfully and promptly
carrying out every behest of his master and sending frequently
large sums of money as rents of Jagir lands and other collections
in his province. 108 Though he was not primarily responsible for
the delay in the despatch of the five monthly instalments of Ali
Jawad Khan, the Foujdar of Narhat Samai, for the Fasli year 1 1 59
i.e. 1752, “yet as compliance with His Excellency’s commands meant
the good fortune of the child of his slave” “the Hundis for the
amount of this Foujdari, together with the sums realised from the
104 Dastur, 199a. The succeeding letter gives 3500 horses (?) and 5000 foot
soldiers as the strength of the military force found after the death of Maharaja Janki
Ram. This does not include those whom the deceased Maharaja had recruited and
sent with Fayez Ali Khan but whom he discharged after his return from the Sarkar
of Saran. A short note is (p. 276b) significant: — “The Zamindars of the Sarkar of
Saran regard themselves as Parasu Ram (the first of the three Rama s and the sixth
incarnation or Avatar of Visnu who extirpated the Ksatriyas twenty one times) and
they would not be reasonable without the Darshan (interview) of Janki Ram/’ The
position of the Bihar Naib was not a bed of roses, indeed.
105 Ibid., 270. 106 Ibid., 181a, 183b.
107 Ibid., 190a.
108 Ibid., 144a, 171a, 177a, 178b, 2363b, 269b etc. etc.
Raja Ramnarain 761
Jagirs of Nawab Mansurul Mulk (Siraj), were sent, as directed.”
We are told how the Raja was directed to settle the question of
a disputed inheritance regarding the village Azizpur in perganah
Mulki of Sarkar Hajipur so as to prevent injustice to legitimate
claimants after enquiring thoroughly about the relevant religious
law (Shariat) on the point. 100
Sometimes, the Raja, instead of immediately giving effect to
certain orders, made his submissions on the subject and solicited
further consideration and directions. Referring to a Parwanah llu
directing him to put Syed Amanullah in possession of village
Azizpore in Perganah Mulki of Sarkar Hajipore, from which, ac-
cording to his own statement, he had been forcibly turned out by
Manan Singh with the help of Narain Dutt, he submitted that
as far as he knew, Manan Singh had been in possession of disputed
land for a long time and he, therefore, thought it advisable to set
up a local enquiry which the Syed was disinclined to accept. He
would do as directed, and in the meanwhile, keep back both the
cavalry and foot soldiers who had been commissioned to the task
under a Dastak. In another undated letter 111 he signified his
readiness to remit as directed the tolls and customs duties on 41
Badri (?) of sewing silk and 7 bags of silken threads, belonging to
one Mirza Mohsin, but he respectfully submitted that his assi-
duity and close superintendence of such things was in the best
interests of the state and that, on an earlier occasion, Raja Janki Ram
had been allowed to effect no such remission in the realization of
government dues.
109 Dastur, 181b, 182a. 110 lbid. y
hi Ibid., 194b, 195a. On the other hand, when enjoined upon, at one time,
not to realise tolls etc. on fine rice and ghee worth Rs. 500 and 200 respectively which
Fazlullah Khan, son of Nawab Sabit Jang, had ordered for from Azimabad (Patna),
tlie Raja writes that no one had power to cause the least obstruction to the said
goods (202a).
762
Raja Ramnarain
We find him at times making some suggestions to the Nawab.
Two or three letters, 112 dated Ramzan, year 5th of accession (August,
1752) relate to the double evils of the existing system whereby tolls
and transit duties on boat-load of salt fell far short of their real value
and were also realised very late. He suggested that the salts brought
on the boats should be weighed at once on their arrival by means
of large scales and care should be taken to prevent evasions and
illicit profits by the prompt realisation of the transit duties. He
requested that the Mutasaddis (clerks) of the court should not be
allowed to be influenced in this respect by the agents of Fakhrut-
tujjar (Khawaja Wajid) and that his submissions should be kept
strictly confidential.
On occasions, though extremely rare, his patience was too much
taxed, specially because of the unpalatable orders respecting the
dues of the Jagirdars in Bihar. It appears that Sirajuddowla, the
de jure, but nominal Nazim of Bihar, had extensive Jagirs in this
province, for we find reference 113 to the despatch of bills of ex-
change worth various amounts for his estate in Tirhut, Narhat and
Samai, Chainpur, and other places. On one occasion, 114 however,
when the Raja was exhorted to practice economy in respect of
Sirajuddowla ’s estate within Afghan possession in Tirhut and also
felt vexed by conflicting orders regarding the Jagir in Phulwari and
elsewhere, he suggested the discontinuance of this distribution of
Jagir which entailed much loss of revenue. In a letter probably
addressed to Durlabh Ram, the Raja refers to the zamindar’s plea
of drought and his own pre-occupations in realizing the dues. He
assures the addressee that he spares no pain in economizing but
feels helpless when it comes to the question of one lac or fifty
thousands. He however, wants this to be communicated to the
Nawab in such a way as not to annoy him in the least. 115
1 12 Dastur, 183b- 184a. 113 Ibid., 236b, 237a, 267a, etc.
I J4 Ibid., 237a. 1 15 Ibid., 236a.
Raja Ramnarain 763
There are numerous such letters, concerning a variety of subjects
ranging from high politics of state down to the personal super-
vision by the Hindu Raja of the ceremonies of Moharram 116 in
the city, specially, Begampur, which contained the mausoleum of
Haibat Jang, ‘the martyr Nawab.’ A student of economic history
will find much interesting materials in the large number of letters
which indicate the constant compliance of the Raja with the most
ordinary wishes and orders of the Nawab and his grandson regard-
ing the prompt despatch of such choicest things 117 of Bihar as
woollen and flowered carpets, Monghyr guns, Patna Basmati rice
and wheat, water melons, mangoes of Chajju Bagh, coarse and fine
linen clothes such as Kharwah, Dodami, Azimabadi, Shabnami,
Gota or gold lace etc., Patna smoking pipes of Bidar type or made
of glass, essence of Ketaki flower, medicines, some vegetable plants
and their seeds etc. We shall however content ourselves with consi-
dering here only a few of those letters which throw some light upon
the frontier and the foreign policy of the Nizamat during the first
period of Raja Ram Narain’s regime.
The fact that the deputy governor of Bihar, an important
frontier province, kept himself well-informed of all the affairs
1 16 Dastur 193a, b. Till recently the Hindus of Patna used to join freely in the
celebration of this Muslim festival held annually on the occasion of the death of
Hussain, son of Ali, who was killed by Yazid at Karbala.
1 17 Dastur, 119a, i2iab, i25ab, 129a, 132b, 133a, 142a, 163b, 171a, 175a, 186b,
187b, 1922b, 193a, i97ab, 20iab, 207b, 2492b, 2303b, 2523b, 256a, 265a, 271a. Ex-
pressions like “Ten maunds of rice for the use of His Excellency for the month of
Zilhijja, year 5th of accession (271a) is interesting for it shows that the Bihar Basmati
(called “Shah pasand '”) was in constant use with the Nawab. Hamilton also speaks
of the good Patna rice which shows that its fame had travelled to Europe (Indostan,
I, 256, 263). References to Monghyr guns and to astrolabe of Lahore make, ordered
for by Nawab Mansurul Mulk,” (Siraj) also deserve more than a passing notice. Per-
haps they throw some light on the character of Siraj and the importance of Monghyr
in the days before Mir Qasim. Again the mention of fine Muslins like “twelve
yarded Mahmudi”, ‘Dodami Azimabadi’, “Shabnam”, “Sufaida” etc. are not without
their own significance. “Shatrangi-i-Guluna” and glass works can still be had at
Patna, but the quality has naturally deteriorated for want of patronage.
764 R a i a Ramnarain
specially of Delhi and Oudh, by means of an efficient and elaborate
system, of espionage, is evident from a good number of news-letters,
found in the collection, as also from a letter of the Raja, 118 sent
in reply to a Parwanah from the Nawab of Bengal. Being enjoin-
ed upon to be ever watchful of the foreign situation through a
band of informants, the Raja assures the Nawab that he had been
personally in charge of this work since the beginning of the
Afghan revolt (1745) and that a body of 7 or 8 Harkaras were
always kept stationed at the Imperial Capital and an equal number
in the army of the Oudh Nawab. Murlidhar is mentioned
prominently in this connection. We learn from the letters 118 that
1 18 Dastur, 124a, 164a.
119 Ibid., 1 15, 125b, 142, 153a, 162b, 178b, 180a, 194b, 210a, 217a, 236a, 243b,
246a. Raja Jugul Kishore, an inhabitant o£ Delhi, and a poet with the pen name of
Sarwat, was Vakil to the Nazim of Bengal from the time of Shuja-ud-din to that of
Aliwardi. According to the author of Rahatul-Arwah (O. P. L. Ms.) Jugul Kishore,
though a vakil of Sarfaraz Khan, was won over by Aliwardi who secured through him
the Nizamat of the three Provinces for himself. He appears frequently in the Dastur
till at least in 1753, and the author of Seyar and Tazkira-i-Hindi also mention him,
sometimes in connection with Oudh affairs ( S.M. , 881; T.H . 227). No such infor-
mations are available, at present, about Lala Jiwan Dass but the context of a parti-
cular letter (119a, b), probably written shortly after Aliwardi’s death, in 1756, shows
that ljte had succeeded Jugul Kishore as the Vakil of the Eastern Provinces in the
Imperial Court. He is mentioned next to Nawab Hakim-ul-mamalik who appears
to have been a very important personage concerning the affairs of Bengal and Bihar
in the Delhi Court till the accession of Siraj-ud-dowla. As regards his identity, two
letters in the Dastur associate with his titles the names of Syed Ali Naqi Khan (179b)
and Alavi Khari (162b). The author of Beyan-i-Waqe (Kujhwa Ms. 127-129) tells us
of a ‘Nawab Hakimul-ma-malik’ (See also Elliot, VIII, pp. 130-131) but we know
from the same author as also from Beal’s Dictionary (p. 47) that this famous physician,
who had been invited by Emperor Mohammad Shah and witnessed Nadirs inva-
sion, died in 1162 (=1748-49). The Patna historian is more helpful in that he makes
mention of an uncle of the famous Nawab Mohammad Raza Khan, Mozaffur Jung,
of Bengal [S.M. 823) who bore the name of Hakimul-mo_malik, Ali Naqi Khan.
The word Alavi presents no difficulty as it was a family name denoting descent from
All, the Prophet’s son-in-law. Hakim Najmul Ghani, the modern historian
of Oudh who derives his information from Bayn-i-waqe, an authoritative work,
describes Ali Naqi Khan as the sister’s son of the famous physician, Alavi Khan,
who had been once weighed in gold and silver by Emperor Mohammad Shah and
Raja Ramnarain
765
Jugal Kishore, Lala Jiwan Das, and one Nawab Hakimul Mamalik,
acted as intermediaries between the Imperial court and that o£ the
Eastern Provinces; that Raja Ram Narain sent through them letters
of congratulations, accompanied by presents of Nazranas of the
usual 500 gold Mohars or 9 Gold Mobars and 51 rupees, on behalf
of Nawab Siraj-ud-dowla, on the occasions, either of the two Muslim
festivals of Idul-Fitre or Iduz-Zoha, or at the anniversary of the
Emperor’s accession to the throne; 120 that the old powerful eunuch,
Jawed Khan, Nawab Bahadur, was won over by the despatch of
Peshkash in the shape of bills of exchange so as to secure title and
rank for the Rajah; 121 that one, Akbar Ali Khan Mangbashi, sent
fiom the Imperial Capital to demand and convey the balance of
the revenue of Bengal 122 and Bihar, advanced the claims of the
promoted to the rank of eight thousand. He also tells us of “his heirs who lived
in Shiraz (Persia) and Bengal and got his (Hakimul-momalik) inheritance through the
recommendation of Safdar Jung ( Turkh-i-Oudh , p. 76). That Nawab Hakimul-
momalik, Syed Ali Naqi Khan, whom we may call Alavi Khan, occupied a very
prominent position in the Imperial Court is shown by the fact that on his Haveli
(mansion) being acquired by Nawab Vazir for Rs. 2 lakhs, he was provided by the
Emperor with a “royal mansion” just adjacent to that of the late Nawab Sam-sa-
mud-dowla Khan Dauran” (Dastur, 179b). At one time the Jagir of the Pargana of
Phulwari (a few kos west from Patna was a bone of contention between this per-
sonage and Siraj-ud-dowla. Ram Narain wrote to Aliwardi on the occasion: —
“let alone the Hakim, I cannot pay the money without your express permission even
if the Emperor himself writes to me” (Dastur, 236b).
120 Dastur, nqab, 195b, 243a.
1 21 Ibid., 126b, 217a.
122 This man described as the “Chieftain of the Caravan of Bengal treasure”
(263b), being deputed from the Imperial Court, arrived at Azimabad on Friday, the
2nd Rabi II, year 4th (1 7-1 8th February, 1752) and lodged in the Id gab (257b). We
do not know if he actually left for Murshidabad, as reported, on the 23rd of the same
month (255a), but a letter tells us that on the 19th Ramzan, at ‘Azimabad, it was
settled on the advice of Mahta Sakhimal,’ and in the presence of Ali Akbar Khan
Mangbashi and the bankers that bills of exchange worth 10 lacs of rupees should be
sent to the Imperial exchequer in 3 instalments wjthin 2 months and a Hundawan
(price paid for a bill of exchange) of 9 p.c. was to be allowed by the said Khan.
Aliwardi might communicate to the Nawab Bahadur (Jawed Khan) and Raja Jugui
Kishore what he deemed fit and ptoper (184a). This letter is immediately followed
DECEMBER, 1938
*4
766 Raja Ramnarain
Nawab Wazir of Oudh, Safdar Jang, after the murder of Jawed
Khan and it was supported by Nawab Hakimul-Mamalik; 123 that
the bitterness of the early years of 1743-45 had gone and a friendly
relation existed in the fifties between Safdar Jang and Mahabat
Jang, as was indicated by the latter 121 complying, through his sub-
ordinates, with the request of the former, to keep away his fugitive
rebels from the confines of the eastern Provinces, and also by the
exchanges of presents 125 between the two Nawabs and their heirs-
apparent; and that Hundis worth lacs of rupees were sent to
Hakimul Mamahk for the estates of the Imperial Jagirdars of
Bihar, who, however, failed to realise the difficulties involved in
the task. 126
by another, according to which the bankers gave out that the Nawab Bahadur had,
after settling 13 p.c. as the Hundawan, issued a Parwanah assigning the 10 lakhs to
the said Ali Akbar Khan. The banker, however, backed out of the bargain (184b).
A little after this Jawed Khan was murdered in Shawal 1163 i.e. September 8 — 1752.
(S.M., 890), at the instance of Safdar Jang who immediately wrote to the Nawab of
Bengal, through Hakimul-momalik, to send to him Hundi for die Bengal tribute
through Akbar Ali (188a, b). An order for compliance was issued to the Naib of
Patna (188a) who also received a letter from the Imperial Court to send the balance of
the treasure of Bengal (180b). He appears, however, to have sent two reports, one
about the men of Akbar Ali Khan behaving improperly with the Persian poet,
Hazin, then resident at Patna, (180a) and another insinuating that as the said Khan
and men of his party had purchased commodities of trade out of the sale proceeds of
their horses which they wanted to take duty free, and it was not possible, except on
the plea of conveying the Imperial treasure, he insisted on getting the money in cash
instead of Hundis being furnished for the same (189b). Elsewhere wc read of Hundis
worth 2 lakhs and 71 thousands being sent to the Nawab Vazir through Raja Jugul
Kishore on the 2nd Moharrum, year 3th i.e. November 1732 and Rupees 50,000 being
kept by the Mangbashi himself for the expenses of his ow r n men (191b). We do
not hear again of Akbar Ali Khan but Ali Ibrahim Khan, Khalil, speaks of a son
of the former, named Ali Naqi, poetically surnamed ‘Intizar’, who according to
Khalil, had come to Murshidabad during the time of Aliwardi and was passing his
days under the patronage of the Nazim when the great anthologist found him in the
7o*s of the 1 8th century (Gulzari-i-Ibrahim. O.P.L. 2 66)^
123 Dastur, 180b, 188a.
124 Ibid., 25a, b. Barwand (Balwant) Singh of Benares is specially named in the
letter.
125 Ibid., 117a.
126 Ibid., 196a.
Raja Ramnarain
767
Affairs like these, as mentioned in the letters, are too numerous'
to be detailed or even referred to here. They show that the master-
ful Subadar of Bengal was ever vigilant and watchful of the political
situation in Northern India and knew how to maintain himself in
his usurped position by an outward show of friendship towards those
who could count. He was ably helped by his lieutenants and
agents at Delhi, and specially by the Naib Nazim of Bihar, who
had the knack of making an effective use of what can be called
his Intelligence department. Though we do not get positive proof
of regular remittance of revenue promised by Aliwardi, in the very
first year of his accession to the musnad of Bengal, yet the due
observance of the formalities on ceremonial occasions by Raja Ram
Narain on behalf of his master, and more specially, the ability
with which he managed to win the good graces of the venal grandees
of Delhi and his attitude of deference to the Oudh Nawab, whose
territories adjoined those of Bihar, sufficed to keep the situation
quiet in those quarters, so far as the eastern provinces were con-
cerned. The Marhattas also had been bought off by the treaty of
June 1751, whereby the chauth of Bengal and Bihar was yielded to
them, and which paved the way for ultimate Marhatta superemacy
over Orissa. A letter 1 2 ' of Raja Ram Narain tells us how he
promptly obeyed his master by appointing agents for the collec-
tion of the Marhatta dues from Bihar for this was the only way
to keep the subjects and peasants free from their constant incur-
sions and extortions. In the year first, i.e., 1754 we hear of the
arrival of one Raghunath Pandit, 12 * an emissary of his namesake,
the brother of the Third Peshwa, and of Malhar Rao Holker, on
the strength of a dastak furnished by Safdar Jang, and another by
Raja Ram Narain. He visited Gaya and went also to Bengal and
was invested with Khilat or robe of honour besides being provided
127 Dastur, 199b.
128 Ibid., 16a, 122a, 140a, 141a, 151a, etc.
768
Raja Ramnarain
with Rs. 25,000 by Raja Sunder Singh of Tikari 129 at the instance
of the Nawab of Bengal.
The Raja of Tikari was only one of the several zamindars and
powerful chieftains, who came frequently into contact with Raja
Ram Narain. The relation subsisting between the turbulent people
of the frontier districts and the Naib Nazim of Bihar is of special
interest in view of some new information supplied by the letters.
The border barons of Bhojpur and Sasaram have been described
in the letters as “deceitful free-booters, resembling foxes and
jackals.” 130 They were well known for their chronic lawlessness
and defiance of settled authority. Though often subdued, 131 as for
instance by Aliwardi in 1732 or 1734, and again by his nephew,
Haibat Jang in 1741-42, they were never completely crushed. In
fact, the hold of the Mussulmans on these portions of Shahabad,
as also on the hilly and irregular tracts of Gaya and Chotanagpore
districts, which formed the western and southern extremities of
Bihar, had been always precarious because of the turbulent and
independent spirit of the people there and the ineffective use of
the Muslim cavalry, specially in the broken and rocky country. 1,12
129 Dastur, 151a, Sunder Singh, a member of the Bhumihar Brahmin community,
and the founder of the Tikari Raj, appears frequently in the letter pp. 29a, 123, 139,
141, 145, 149, 150, 174, 189, 216, 261 etc.. The Patna historian who describes
Sunder Singh as a dutiful protege of Aliwardi ( S.M. , 565) gives very interesting
informations about him — see pages 505, 506, 526, 535, 538, 539, 544, 559, 567, 627,
643, 649, 654, 657. A few lines from Justice James’ Selection from the Correspon-
dence of the Revenue chiefs of Bihar , p. 25 will bear quotation: — “while Kamgar
Khan was building up the Hasua Estate, his neighbour Sunder Singh of Tikari, was
acquiring for himself a vast zamindari by similar method by encroaching on the
petty zamindaris in the plains, and on the Ghatwali tenures in the hilly area on the
south. There was a strong personal enmity between Sunder Singh and Kamgar
Khan and after Sunder Singh’s murder in 1758, the feud was continued with Raja
Fatteh Singh (his nephew) and Buniad Singh both of whom were put to death by
Mir Qasim in 1763.”
430 Dastur, 15a, b. 131 S.M,, 505, 506, 473, 490; MN: 15b, 16a, 27b.
132 JASB., 1885. Beam’s Article on the Geography of Bihar, p. 164.
Raja Ramnarain
769
Times of trouble are always favourable for the enterprising and
the adventurous people. The ablest and the most spirited amongst
them tried to carve out new estates, withheld revenue and shrank
not from giving battles to the organised forces of the state. The
Bhojpuria Rajputs of Jagdishpur and Chainpur in Sasaram, Kamgar
Khan of Narhut Samai, Sunder Singh of Tikari, Bishun Singh of
Seres Kutumba were conspicuous figures in the period under review
and their encroachments and aggrandisements, mutual jealousy and
defiant attitude, caused constant harassment to their neighbours
and the Government and entailed much loss of revenue. More-
over, their activities also constituted a positive political danger to
the rulers of Bihar and Bengal, because many of them, favourably
situated as they were, often felt inclined to transfer their allegiance
to the more powerful and neighbouring rulers of Oudh and
Allahabad, who were by no means unwilling to welcome such a
move, or even to afford temporary refuge to the Bihar rebels in
their territories. The way in which the Perganahs of Kirao
Mangror of the Sarkar of Shahabad and two frontier Perganahs in
the Sarkar of Saran were lost to Benares and Oudh long before the
British rule and the support received by Prince Ali Gohar from dis-
affected elements in Bihar (1759-60) suggests the importance of the
subject. 133
Raja Ram Narain was fully alive to the problem from the very
outset of his regime. Though he had enough trouble at the
hands of the frontier people which provoked at times very angry
expressions, noticed in the letters, yet in the beginning, his policy
was attended with remarkable success. About a year after his eleva-
tion, we are told by his letters, he left his capital in charge of one
Fayez Ali Khan and started on the 1st Jamadi I year 5th i.e., April,
133 Dastiir-ul-Amal etc., p. 84.
Raja Ramnarain
77 °
I 75 2 > f rom the tank of Waris Khan on his Bhojpur expedition. 131
Just two months before, on the ist Rabi II, he had received a visit
from Pahlawan Singh of (Chainpur) Sasaram, lJS who not only paid
down his arrear dues for the year 1x58 Fasli = 1752A.D., but also
promised to bring Udwant Singh, the zamindar of Bhojpur, on the
banks of the river Sone. Encamping at Dinapur 1Jt> on the 3rd and
then at Maner on the 3th of the same month, Raja Ram Narain left
the latter place on the 8th and then arrived at the head of Dhowa on
the bank of the Sone and pitched his camp at a village, named, Jan-
134 Dastiir-ul-lnsha, letters 243a. On pages 254b, 261b, we read “This day
morning, the 19th Rabi II, I sent out my tents to the tank of Waris Khan for the
regulation of the Country.” According to the English Translator of the Seyar
“Waris Khan’s reservoirs” was situated midway between the eastern and the western
parts of the (Patna City)” II, 291. But the original text says that “it was situated
to the west of the city” (S.M., 490).
135 Dastur-ul-lnsha, p. 196b. This poweful Zemindar was a member of the
Ujjainia tribe of Rajputs and a resident and proprietor of Noklia in the Perganah of
Sasaram of the Shahabad District ( Dastiiir-ul-Amal , p. 18a) . He was too well known
a political figure to escape the notice of the contemporary writers. The author of
the Seyar describes Pahlawan Sing and his brother Suther Singh as “strong and
powerful zamindars of Chainpore and Sasaram” who joined Haibat Jang against
Mustafa Khan on the occasion of the latter’s assault on Patna in 1745 (S.M., 535)
and helped Aliwardi against Afghan Marhatta coalition in 1748 ( S.M. , 567). Indeed
he was indebted very much to Aliwardi for the rise of his fortune and consequently
we find him among those very* few people who stood by Sirajuddaula and felt
extremely antagonistic to the usurper of his position. He accompanied Raja Ram
Narain to Purneah and was present in the battle of Maniari and Nawabganj which
decided the fate of Shaukat Jang, the cousin of Sirajuddowla (627-28). After the
tragic affairs of Plassey in 1757 he joined Sunder Singh of Tikari in entreating
Raja Ram Narain to take up arms in revenge for the murder of the grandson of
their benefactor,” but the Naib of Patna backed out (S.M., 643). No wonder that
he joined Mohammad Quli Khan and offered his services for the Shahzada only if
the former gave up his resolve to go back to Allahabad (S.M., 669). His frendship
with Hedayat Ali (671), submission after coercion to Clive and Ram Narain (673-74)
his doubtful conduct on the occasion of the second expedition of the Shahzada,
(SM„ 677-78 see also Ibratnama) and his hostility and suppression by Mir Qasim
709**0) are matters of history.
136 .The letters bearing on the subject may be found in pages 145, 147, 149, 196,
239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 251b, 257a, 261b etc*
Raja Ramnarain
77 1
padha, 3 kos away from Mohib Alipore. Here on the 12th of the
same month, Pahlawan Singh and Suther Singh came with their sons
and interviewed the Raja. Babu Udwant Singh and Raja Chaterdhari
Singh 117 of Bhojpur followed suit on the 20th. Those turbulent
chiefs, the letters’ 18 tells us, were ready for the settlement of the
dues for Shahabad, both arrear and current. Though Raja Ram
Narain assures Aliwardi that the return of such people to allegiance
within such a short time was due to the good fortune of the
Nawab, 1 ' 1 ” the rather unexpectedly easy and ungrudging submission
of the ever defiant chieftains of Shahabad has to be explained, pro-
bably, by their first feelings of gratification at the elevation to the
highest office in Bihar of one of their own fellowmen and com-
patriots who, on his part, was fully capable of a conciliatory attitude
and tactful management.
No such relations existed at least in the beginning, between
the Naib Nazim and Raja Sunder Singh of Tikari. A letter 1 . 4 ’
dated Sunday, the 23th Rabi II year 4th of accession informs us
that Sunder Singh visited Raja Ram Narain in the Patna fort on
the previous day, but we do not know if anything good actually
resulted from the interview. On the other hand, several letters
reveal rather a hostile attitude of the Raja of Tikari. We are told
how his arrival at Patna was quite unexpected for “this time he
137 Dastur, 241a. “Babu Udwant Singh, Ujjainia, the proprietor of Jagdishpore”
( S.M. 3 543) and a man in possession of an army and a country and one who was
very bold and intrepid” ( Dastur-ul-Amal , 16a) was suppressed, along with Horil
Singh, by Haibat Jang in 1741 (S.M., 566). Against the latter, however, he helped
Mustafa Khan in 1745. On his death, at an unknown date, he left '4 sons, namely
Gajraj. Singh, Amrao Singh, Wan Singh and Alka Singh. The grandson of the
first, Narain Singh, was killed in 1201 Fasli (1794 A.D.) and left no children. Alka
Singh died without any issue. Isari Singh and Sahibzada Singh were the sons of
Omrao and Wan Singh respectively. Raja Kunwar Singh of the Mutiny fame was a
representative of one of these lines. As regards Raja Chaterdhari Singh, he< was
probably the son of Horil Singh and an ancestor of the modern Rajas of Dumraon.
138 Dastur, 240a, 241b. 139 Ibid* * 4 ° Ibid* 251a.
77 2 R a j a Ramnarain
was so very averse to Azimabad.” 141 Much more definite is tlu
information that Babu Fateh Singh, nephew of Raja Sunder Singh,
was summoned to the city (Patna) and a sum of Rs. i lac and 40
thousands was demanded from his uncle for the arrear of the past
year (1752) but instead of paying even a single Dam , he put
forward the same old excuses as had been reported by Raja Janki
Ram. 142 Letters full of “fear and hope” were of little avail, and
about two years after we find Raja Ram Narain proceeding as far as
Gaya towards the end of Rabi I, year I of accession, i.e. 1 754- 1 755
in order to settle the matter. 143 It appears that Sunder Singh had
gone to Murshidabad, 141 probably, to represent his case and,
on return assumed a much more defiant attitude. Raja Ram Narain
writes from Gaya on Tuesday, the 7th Rabi II, that he had been
waiting in vain for Sunder Singh who was staying at Nodha,
9 kos from Gaya, and threatening to go back to Tikari if
the payment of the dues by instalment, till the month of Asad, 1 161
Fasli, (1754) already approved by the Nawab, was not settled and
agreed to by the writer. In response to Sunder Singh’s summons,
he had sent Diwan Sitaldas, Dipchand, and Bharat Singh and finally
Shaikh Flamiduddin to argue with him for, as he writes, if the con-
ditions were to be accepted others also might be tempted to keep
back the dues even for the Fasli year 1162. The last named gentle-
man reported on his return that Raja Sunder Singh had a great hesi-
tation in coming over till his affairs were settled. The remarks of
141 Dastur, 262a. 142 Ibid., 196a.
143 Ibid. We get several letters, despatched from Gaya, including the one
which reports about the Nawab’s presents and Parwanahs having been received at
Gaya with due reverence by the Naib on 25th Rabi I (147b- 148b) and another
wherein we read of the ‘Wasil BaqV or the outstanding dues of Raja Sunder Sing
and the payment “till then” of only one lakh and eighty thousand rupees and
of the apathy of Bunyad Singh, the nephew of the said Raja (137a).
144 Dastur, 150a “You had written to me that Raja Sunder Singh took leave of
His Excellency after agreeing to pay the money and was coming here."
Raja Ramnarain
773
Raja Sunder Singh reported to Raja Ram Narain are somewhat signi-
ficant. “I am as much servant o£ His Excellency as such a one (Raja
Ram Narain) and I, too, have had my elevation at his hands and shall
abide by his decision alone.” 145
We know what services Sunder Singh rendered to Aliwardi and
his nephew and how loyal he proved at the time o£ most critical
dangers. 146 Was it, therefore, unnatural if he should feel somewhat
disappointed by the arrangements made after Haibat Jang’s murder,
and specially on Janki Ram’s death. True, we do not find any
mention of Sunder Singh’s claim either having been ever put forward
or considered but the sense of jealousy and rivalry is quite apparent
from both words and deeds of the persons concerned. We have
already seen the reference to Sunder Singh’s aversion for Azimabad
(almost non-existent before) and we read how Raja Ram Narain was
determined not to return from the place without realizing the
government dues.- 17 Elsewhere, 111 ' we find Raja Ram Narain making
rather a bitter comment on the apathy on the part of the Nawab to
the letters he wrote about the dues from Raja Sunder Singh. In
fact, the Naib Nazim could not but look with a mixed feeling of
hatred and fear upon a potential rival as he did in the case of Syed
Hedayat Ali Khan, on a subsequent occasion 1 19 ( S.M . , 684). But the
shrewd old Nawab knew his business better than any one else and
he was a keen judge of men and their capacities. He had favoured
the man of pen and the man of sword as they deserved and he kept a
balance between the two. He intervened in the quarrel between
Raja Ram Narain and Raja Sunder Singh and as result of his instruc-
145 Dastur, 148^1 51b.
146 E.g. Mustafa Khan’s invasion of Bihar (S.M., 535-538). Marhatta Afghan
coalition in 1748 (< S.M . , 567).
147 Ibid., 150a. 148 Ibid., 123a.
149 S.M. , 484 “Ram Narain is afraid lest my father, by coming to live in the
town, may impress the English with his merits, so much so, that they might
appoint him as the Subedar of this country.”
IifH.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
l 5
774
Raja Ram narain
tiorl, Ij0 the Tikari Raja agreed to pay two lacs in cash, besides two
lacs already realized, and one lac accepted as a loan from army.
The relation between the two personages soon changed for the
better, for, probably, they realised the limitations of their respective
positions and the value of co-operation against common foes and more
alien claimants. We shall see both acting together on many an
occasion against- Kamgar Khan; 151 the powerful zamindar of Mai
and Nerhat Samai, who dominated the country between Birbhum
150 Dastur, 151a, b.
15 1 Ibid., 53^-532^ S.M., 649. Kamgar Khan, the fifth of the six children of
Amanat Khan, including a daughter who was married to Badiuzzaman, the Zamindar
of Birbhum, was, according to Mr. Justice James, “the most powerful Zamindar of
Bihar in 1757-” He lived with his 3 brothers, Namdar, Sardar and Ranmast (we
know little about Salabat Khan) at Hasua near Nawadah. Their grand-father,
Dayanat Khan, and his brother, had received a formal grant of the Zamindari
of the Perganahs of Narhat and Samai in Gaya, from Emperor Farrukh Seyar.
They were commonly known as the Mayi family, writes Mr. James, because their
ancestors, before their conversion to Muhammadanism, were said to have been Mayi
Rajput?. (Bhatti tribe according to Seyar , 500). Kamgar Khan and his brothers
were among the strongest supporters of Haibat Jang and at first of Aliwardi ( S.M . ,
500, 535, 538, 540, 365, 567) but since the elevation of Raja Ram Narain to the
office of the Niabat, Kamgar appears to have practically turned into a rebel (Dastur,
257a). At one time a personal friend of Mir Jafar, the neglect of his grievances
against his rival Sunder Singh of Tikari, made him the bitterest foe of the Nawab
and his Naib of Patna (S.M., 649) The English found him as one of the most
formidable of their enemies in Bihar “who was pitted successively against Clive,
Knox and Camac”. Wc shall conclude this note with a quotation from Mr. Justice
James; — “Kamgar Khan, a very bold and turbulent man who waged war upon his
neighbours and seized on many other estates, and would infallibly have made himself
master of the whole of South Bihar, had he not been opposed by Sunder Singh
of Tikari, drove from Kharakdiha the degenerate descendant of the
(Bhabhan) Raja at whose expenses his father and uncle had made their first acquisi-
tions, and he occupied in 1764 (when he died) an area of over four thousand square
miles. He bore a leading part in the intrigues and fightings of the period between
1757 and 1764, opposing Ram Narain, supporting Ali Gohar, and afterwards assisting
Mir Qasim, when the Nawab turned against the company {Selection from the Cor-
respondence Of the Revenue Chiefs of Bihar, 1787-1789, pp. 23.24). A quarrel with
Gurgin Khan however prevented Kamgar Khan from rendering any help to Mir
Qasim {S.M., 334-357).
Raja Ramnarain
775
and Bihar, which also was largely the sphere of Sundar Singh’s acti-
vities. As for Raja Ram Narain, he found his bitterest and the most
formidable foe in Kamgar Khan, who had at one time proved himself
a valued supporter of Aliwardi and a personal friend of Mir Jafar, but
who ultimately lost the friendship of both. He was a constant thorn
by the side of Raja Ram Narain and Raja Sunder Singh and was once
on the point of destroying the life and power of the former and put-
ting Bihar, and possibly Bengal too, into the hands of Shah Alam
when, as we shall see hereafter, the penury of his royal protege and
the vigour and diplomacy of the English saved the situation for the
Naib Nazim and prevented the change of the whole course of
Indian history. As regards his relation with Raja Ram Narain
during the days of Aliwardi, letters despatched from the river Sone
refer to the determination of the Naib of Bihar to proceed against
him. lj2 We have also fortunately got a copy of a long letter 10 ' 1
despatched to Aliwardi, on Saturday the 4th Jamadi II, (year not
given 1 ’ 1 giving a detailed account of a desperate battle fought with
Kamgar Khan in the field of Bhordaur near Bhadair, which resulted
in the rout and flight of the latter. Raja Ram Narain had put in
the field a large force consisting of 10,000 cavalry and an equal
number of infantry with 500 swivel guns and 40 cannons, besides
auxiliary troops and a body of 2000 cavalry and 5000 infantry and
12 pieces of cannon brought in by Raja Sunder Singh Bahadur.
Mention has been made of more than 25 notable chieftains, includ-
ing Sarnam Singh, a brother’s son of Raja Balwand Singh of Benares,
152 Dastur, 257a. 153 Ibid., 3813-38213.
154 A letter in page 31a dated 21 Jamadi, II year 7th of accession i.e., 1755
February or March), addressed to Dhiraj Narain, then in-charge of the City, speaks
of the flight of Kamgar Khan and may thus give us the clue to the real date. Else-
where we find another interesting letter, dated Rajab year 7, i.e. March or April
I 755 > which tells us that “Mohammad Kamgar’s petition for pardon had been
accepted by the Nawab who had issued Parwanah to that effect to his Naib of
Patna.’’ (ii7b-u8a).
Raja Ramnarain
776
but the prowess of Ahmad Khan Qureshi 10 ' 5 and of Raja Sunder
Singh has been specially extolled and commended.
We shall revert to Kamgar Khan later on : Let us consider
here a kinsman of Kamgar Khan, the zamindar of Birbhum, one of
the warden of marches of Bengal who has been mentioned in some
of the letters. 1 ’ 6 Perhaps Raja Ram Narain went out of his way to
attempt an extension of his jurisdiction over Birbhum Zamindar.
Badiuzzaman, the zamindar of Birbhum, appears to have seen the
Raja of Bihar but he expressed his inability to pay the arrears of year
1158-59 Fasll. 1 ' 1 ' However, the Nawab of Bengal intervened and
according to the instruction received from him the Birbhum affairs
were disposed off. The Raja expresses his regret that he did not get
the order before but he assures that he would take care to be more
cautious in future.
155 Ahmad Khan was the grandson of Daud Khan Quraishi, the founder of
Daudnagar in Gaya and an officer of 5,000 in the reign of Aurangzcb. Ahmad held
the Perganah of India and Koha (!) in fief. He could save his strong-hold of
Ghausgarh near Daudnagar only with great difficulty from the Marhatta devasta-
tions by paying fifty thousand rupees as Peshkash to Balaji Baji Rao in 1743
( S.M . , 523). He stood by Haibat Jang on the occasion of the rebellion oh Mustafa
Khan (S.M., 535-42-550) and rendered valuable help to Aliwardi after his nephew’s
assassination by the Afghan. On the whole, his relations with Raja Ram Narain,
too, were not unfriendly. We find him siding with the Patna Naib against Shah
Alam in the battle of Dhowa or Mosumpur ( S.M . , 677-678).
156 Dastur, 242b, 251b, 266a. “Sheltered by hills, rocks, and forests and sup-
ported by numerous Afghans, “Badiuzzaman, the powerful Zamindar of Western
Bengal,” did not, according t© the author of Rahat-ul-Arwah , (p. 88) and Reazus-
Salatin, (pp. 306-307) “bend his head in submission to the Nazim, and failed to pay
the revenue beyond the stipulated tribute.” He misappropriated 14 lakhs of revenue
derived from cultivable area which had been endowed for helping the poor and the
scholarly. Ultimately, he submitted to,. and secured pardon from, Nawab Shuja-ud-din
through his son Sarfaraz Khan by. agreeing to pay three lacs of rupees annually on
account of the Government revenue. Kirat Chand, the Zamindar of Burdwan, stood
as his security. He had probably married a sister of Kamgar Khan who bore him a
son, the famous Asaduz-Zaman Khan, the Raja of Birbhum*
157 Dastur, 265a, b.
Raja Ramnarain
111
This is not the only occasion when the Raja suffered a mild
rebuke from the ever watchful Nawab, for the delay in sending bills
of exchange for the estate of Nawab Zayauddowla Bahadur, a jagir-
dar of the Imperial court , 1 ’ 8 the forcible occupation of the spacious
mansion, then known as Haveli ‘Abdul ‘All Khan , 1 ' 10 and now pro-
bably represented by the residence of the Raja’s representatives in
Maharajghat, and sundry other matters , 11 ' 0 could not but ruffle
Aliwardi’s temper. But on the whole, the one thing that strikes
us most, is the fidelity and promptness with which the Raja carried
out his patron’s orders, even when unpalatable and difficult of
execution.
The most marked feature of Raja Ram Narain’s political
career under Aliwardi is the ability and the wisdom he showed in
settling the affairs of the province, specially of the frontier districts,
with great care and without much bloodshed. Standing on his own
resources, and declining with thanks the preferred help of his patron,
158 Ibid., 239, 240b, 247, 249. The author of the Seyar mentions one Zeya-ud-
dowla who was the son of Asaduddin Khan, who and Jalaluddaula were the
favourite friends of Ghazi-ud-din, Imadul Mulk, the infamous vazir of Ahmad
Shah and Aiamgir II. They served as patrons of Saulat Jang, and his son Shaukat
Jang of Purneah (S.M., 624-625) in the Imperial court.
159 Dastur, 1716-1723. The description of the Haveli that it was very spacious
and situated on the bank of the river and very near the fort which “made the Raja’s
stay in the fort and the Haveli practically the same”, as also the evidence of Gholam
Hussain ( S.M . , 560-561) whose youngest brother was “carried along the water side
to Abdul Ali Khan’s house*' in 1748, would indicate the present site of the building.
Abdul Ali Khan, however, may have given his tacit consent to its occupation by
Raja Ramnarain. It was at one time mortgaged to Khadim Hussain Khan and
occupied on rent by Mustafa Quli and its worth in its neglected condition was esti-
mated to about forty thousand (Dastur, 177a, b).
160 Expressions like “the noble temper is indifferent over this matter” (112b);
“Except the affair of Abdul Huq Khan, the slave was guilty of no shortcoming
during the last four years.” “No one is careless of the affairs of his master who is as
if his God on the earth” (130) etc. etc. show occasional lapse of a light type on the
part of the Naib.
77 & Raja Ramnarain
he succeeded in keeping order 161 within his province, realizing and
remitting the dues of the government and the jagirdars of Bengal and
Delhi, dealing tactfully with the border barons and being ever alive to
the necessities of the frontier defence. In reply 162 to a Parwanah
of Aliwardi, requiring from him a compliance with the request
of Safdar Jang to prevent the influx of his dispersed and run-away
troops into Bihar and Bengal, the Raja assures the Nawab of Bengal
that Pahalwan Singh and Udwant Singh had been enjoined upon
to keep guard over the forts of Karamnasa and Buxar rivers so that
not a single individual should cross over to Bihar. He had also
directed the Naib of the Sarkar of Saran to take care of river Deoha
and Gogra and, lastly, he had a police post established opposite to
Hajipore for the same purpose. At times, as already noticed, he
felt somewhat vexed by certain""’ orders : but such instances are few
and far between. They only prove that the Nawab was acquies-
cent but trustful, strong, vigilant, and watchful, and the Naib,
though liable to err as human, was ever humble, submissive and
faithful. Raja Ram Narain’s letter to Hakimul Mamalik, quoted
by ‘Ibrati 161 and also found in full in the Dastiir, 16 '’ informing the
addressee of the death of his benefactor, Aliwardi, Mahabat Jang,
.after two month’s illness of dropsy, on the 9th Rajab i.e. 10th April
1756, is an elegy in prose and gives us an insight into the depth
of the feelings of the writer.
S. H. Askari
(To be continued.)
161 That he was constantly on the move to restore affairs within the province
is proved by his expeditions of the years 1752, 1755, *756* I 757- etc. teferred to in
the Dastur. , •»
162 Dastur, 200b, 201, 25a, b. 163 Ibid,, 115, 236, etc
164 Ibid., 155b, 157a, Reyzul Afkar. The Raja received the appalling news
while he was engaged in some expedition in the south. He hastened to Azimabad
and entered the fort on the 18th Rajab on which date he received the Parwanah
of Confirmation together with a robe of honour, elephant; jewels etc, from the new
Nawab Mansur-ul-mulk Bahadur (Siraj-ud-dowla). 165 Ibid,
Boundaries of Ancient Maharastra and Karnataka
• • • •
Ddksinapatha
According to the Puranas the two sub-divisions of India
(northern and southern) were termed as Aryavarta and Daksinapatha
respectively. The range of the Vindhya mountains naturally formed
the dividing line of the same. Sir R. G. Bhandarkar however has
tried to solve the question regarding the early settlement of the
Aryans in Southern India, and has consequently made a mention cf
the different countries referred to in the Sanskrit literature at its
different stages . 1 The Aitareya Brahmana speaks of the Andhras,
Pulindas, Sabaras and Pundras as people living in the South . 2
Panini mentions the names of the southernmost kingdoms as
Avanti, Kosala, Karusa and Kalinga. Later on, Katyayana
explains in his Varttika the derivation of the word Mahismat, and
also the names of the countries of Pandyas and Colas. He refers to
Nasikya or the modern Nasik. Again, in the Mahdbbarata,
Sahadeva is said * to have subdued the Pandyas, Dravidas,
Udras, Keralas and Andhras. He also visited many other places
e.g., Surparaka (modern Supara near Bassein), Dandaka, Karahataka
(modern Karhad), and later on Kiskindhya . 3 On the other
hand, the Rdmdyana refers to different nations and nationalities
i.e. Utkala, Kalinga, Dasarna, Avanti, Vidarbha, Coja, Pandya,
Kerala and Dandakaranya respectively. In this connection, we may
also refer to the various places mentioned in the Edicts of Asoka.
Asoka is said to have sent his missionaries to the countries of the
Rastikas (Ratrakas according to the Mansehra version), Pitenikas and
the Aparantas. In one of the Edicts, the Pitenikas are associated
with the Bhojas.
1 Collected Works of Sir R. G. Bhandarkar, vol. Ill, pp. n ff.
2 Aitareya Br., VII. 18. 3 Sabha-Parva, Ch. 31 (Bombay Ed.).
780 Boundaries of Ancient Maharastra and Karnataka
The evidence of the Puranas
Daksinapatha included nearly the whole of southern India.
Some of the Puranas have given a succinct account of the various
countries located in the Daksinapatha. An extract from the Vayu
Purana will elucidate the point:
^rfwpmrRrc: nv*l
'TFrsqrsr fjRT 1
JTSHPfT *nf|W II V*l
tfijnsT: f^r srpsrr zf&u
^Tf^rarr^r^ I
Further the Puranas give in detail the names of the
rivers situated in the Daksinapatha :
’Tt^T^t frajrr l
p^T stniurr ^ wmr 1
#0ITO^ n°VI
Vayu P., Adhyaya 45.
It should also be noted in this connection, that some of the
Puranas replace the word Kuntala by the word Karnata. Thus,
Daksinapatha included among other countries, the Pandya, Kerala,
Cola, Maharastra, Mahisaka, Kalinga, Paunika, Maunika, Asmaka
and Kuntala or Karnata. In our opinion, the above passages need
be read along with the inscriptional and literary evidence obtaining
in South India. Mr. S. B. Joshi, has also thrown a flood of light on
this problem. (Cf. Maharastrada Mula in Kanarese).
Karnataka and Maharastra
We are not in a position however, to state exactly when the two
words Maharastra and Karnataka came into vogue. The word
Karnata which has been identified with the word Kuntala
is freely used in the Puranas. It is also used in the famous
Boundaries of Ancient Maharastra and Karnataka 781
Sanskrit play Mrccbakatika. Varahamihira makes a mention of the
same. The famous Kanarese king Pulikesi was proud of his Karna-
taka armies. Later on, the author of the Kaviraja-marga (9th cen.
A.D.) gives in detail the boundaries of the Kanarese country wherein
the sweet Kannada was spoken.
On the other hand, the word Maharastra is also freely used in
the Puranas. The Matsya P. (Chap. 114, 47), however, uses the
word Nava-rastra instead of Maharastra. The Garuda (55, 15) and
the Visnu-dharma (10, 5) give variant versions e.g. Nara or Naya-
rastra, (which seem to be rather misprints for the word Nava).
Later Dandin makes a reference to the Maharastri language.
Pulikesi is said to have defeated the three Maharastrakas. 4 The
word is of free and common occurence in later literature also.
Their boundaries
The question of the respective boundaries of Ancient Karna-
taka and Maharastra is so much interconnected that it is impos-
sible to trace the boundaries of the one country without at the same
time tracing those of the other. Now, the first reference to the
boundaries of ancient Karnataka occurs in the Kaviraja-marga, the
authorship of which work is ascribed to the Rastrakuta monarch
Nrpatuhga Amoghavarsa (A.D. 815-877). The poet gives a poetic
description of the boundaries. 5 He says:
“Twixt sacred rivers twain it lies,
From famed Godavari,
To where the pilgrim rest’s his eyes
On Holy Kaveri.
The people of that land are skilled,
To speak in rhythmic tone (the sweet Kannada)
Thus at least in the time of Amoghavarsa Nrpatunga the banks
of the river Godavari seem to have formed the northernmost boundary
4 l A,, vol, VII, p. .243.
DECEMBER, 1938
5 Rice, Kanarese Literature .
16
782 Boundaries of Ancient Maharastra and Karnataka
of the Kanarese country. On the other hand, the statement sur-
prisingly enough concurs with the one made in the Lilacaritra, a work
of the Mahanubhavas (1 190 A.D.) written in Marathi. The passage
in the Lilacaritra happens to have been quoted in extenso by Mr.
Joshi in his work Maharastrada Mula . c The Lilacaritra defines the
boundaries of the three Khanda-mandalas or sub-divisions of
Maharastra, thus :
1 The first Mandala consisted of the country lying from
Phalithana (or modern Paithan) downwards wherever the
Marathi language was spoken ; to the north of this was
situated Baleghat.
2 The second Mandala consisted of the country lying on
both the sides of the river Godavari to the extent of
twelve yojanas. To the west was situated Tryambakes-
vara (near Nasik).
3 The third Mandala was comprised of the country lying
in between Meghakara Ghat and Varhad (Berar).
From the above, one may easily infer that the Maharastrians
had not made any substantial encroachment upon the country of the
Kanarese people at least upto the twelth century A.D. If we draw
any conclusion from the fact that the Moloch o of Yuan Chwang, or
the country comprising the three Maharastrakas (trayanam
Maharastrakanam ) which are said to have been conquered by the
Calukya king Pulikesi II, does not differ much from the one de-
tailed in the Lilacaritra, then we may possibly infer that the Maha-
rastrians had more or less occupied only this portion of the province
since the seventh century A.D.
But the Puranas seem to have used the word rather in a res-
tricted sense. They make a clear distinction between the country
of the Mahisakas and the Maharastras. The Vaidarbhas also are
6 S. B. Joshi, Maharastrada Mula, p. 42.
Boundaries of Ancient Maharastra and Karnataka 783
not included in the Maharastra. The Paunikas (or the people of
Punika or Punaka-Visaya) did not form part of the ancient Maha-
rastra as described in the Puranas. The Vayu Purdna also describes
the country of the Bhanu-Kacchas as comprising the tract of the
country lying between Nasik and the banks of the river Narmada.
Thus the original Maharastra was situated within these limits.
The account of Varahamihira, who flourished in the sixth
century A.D., is interesting in this connection. Among other
countries the following are described as situated in the Daksinapatha :
“Bharukaccha, Vanavasi, Sibika, Phanikara, Konkana, Abhira,
Karnata, Mahatavi, Citrakuta, Nasikya and Dandakavana.” Thus
we find that Varahamihira has not even referred to the word Maha-
rastra. Most probably, the word Maharastra was in its process of
formation then. Because it was at this time Dandi (5th cen. A.D.)
used the word Maharastri in connection with the Maharastri
language. Further, the Ceylonese chronicle Mahdvamsa and the
still older work Dipavamsa refer to the fact that the Buddhist saint
Moggaliputta had sent missionaries to Maharattha, Aparantaka and
Vanavasi. 7
Earlier than this, some of the inscriptions found in the cave-
temples of Bhaja, Bedsa and Karle refer to the Maharathi and Maha-
rathini donors of the second century A.D/ Further the only ins-
criptional evidence in connection with the Maharastra is probably
the Edicts of Asoka, who is said to have sent missionaries to the
country of the Rastikas, Pitenikas and the Bhojas.
Boundary of the country of the Rastikas
Thus by a process of elimination, we find that, it was this
country of the Rastikas or Ratrakas 9 that most probably developed
7 Tumouer, Mahavamso, pp. 71, 72; Oldenberg, Dipavamsa, p. 54.
8 Cf. Collected Works of Sir R. G. Bhandarkar, vol. Ill, p. 23.
9 In the Brahma-Vaivarta P. Parasurama is said to have destroyed the
7 8 4
Boundaries of Ancient Alaharastra and Karnataka
itself into the later Maharastra. But what must have been the ori-
ginal boundaries of the country cf the Rastikas or Rastriyas?
Sir R. G. Bhandarkar is of opinion that, “the word Deccan ex-
presses the country watered by the upper Godavari, and that lying
between that river and the Krsna. The name Maharastra also seems
at one time restricted to this tract.” 1 " But the historical data that' is
available to us at present does not allow us to draw any such
conclusion.
The Vayu Parana specifically states that the Maharastras are
situated at the foot of the Vindhya mountains (Vindhya-mulikas).
In the time of Asoka, as we have observed above, the three countries
of the Rastikas, Pitenikas and the Bhojas are mentioned together.
At another time, the Pitenikas are associated with the Bhojas. So
that these Rastikas were evidently different from the Paithanikas;
and were also different from the Bhojas, who happened to be the
rulers of Berar. Therefore, the original Maharastra seems to have
been situated within the following circumscribed area : —
1 According to the statement of Rajasekhara the whole of
the Daksinapatha was situated to the south of the
Mahismati. Mahismati, however, was situated at a
place where the two ranges of the Vindhyas and the
Satpura approach the river Narmada.
2 To the west of the country was situated the country of
the Bhanu-kacchas as evidenced in the Vayu Parana.
Bhanu-kaccha was situated in between the Narmada
and Nasik. The Matsya P. used the word Bharu-
kaccha instead of Bhanu-kaccha (Cf. chap. 114, 50)
Rastriya armies. These seem to be the same as the Rastikas or Ratrakas referred to in
the Edicts of Asoka. ( Brahma Vai. P. Ganesa Khanda 36, 12). As to who were
these Rastriyas we need not go into the detail at present. Cf. also the inscription
of king Kharavela.
10 Cf. Collected Works of Sir R. G. Bhandarkar , vol. Ill, p. 6.
Boundaries of Ancient Maharastra and Karnataka
785
3 To the east was most probably 4 situated the country of
the Bhojas (or Berar).
4 To the south were situated the Godavari and the adjoin-
ing provinces.
Thus we see that this Rastika (Rastriya) or the Maharastra of
later times can be located within this circumscribed area. But later
on, a Gana or Republic of some of the countries seems to have been
formed which was termed as Maharathi-Gana, as can be easily
inferred from the expression Maharathi-gana-kayiro 11 on an inscrip-
tion found in the cave at Nanaghat. It was since this time most
probably, that the word Maharastra came into vogue. Maharastra,
however, increased in extent later on. In the time of the great
Pulikesi II, it had increased to the extent of 99000 villages. Later on
the kingdom of the Rastikas becomes Rattapadi “Saptardha-laksa-
visaya.” And in the twelth century A.D. it became a country of
sixty lacs. There is however a great controversy regarding the
meaning of the expression “Saptardha-laksa Rattapadi.” According
to Krisnasvami Iyengar the number may indicate either the revenue
or the value of the land produce, or even the number of villages. Rice
is of opinion, that the number indicates the revenue. 12 Mr. C. V.
Vaidya on the other hand strongly asserts, that the number cannot
represent villages nor ploughs, and he leaves the problem undecided
after suggesting that the number may indicate the amount of land
produce paid as government share. 13 According to J. F. Fleet the
figure refers to the number of townships. In the Skanda Purana,
however, a fabulous figure of the respective numbers of the town-
ships and villages in India is given. India is said to have contained
11 Cf. Collected Works of Sir R . G . Bbandarkar i vol. Ill, p. 23.
12 S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Ancient History of India , pp. 40, 78.
13 History of Medieval Hindu India t vol. I, p. 158.
786 Boundaries of Ancient Maharastra and Karnataka
about 72000 townships and about 960,000,000 villages. 14 Curiously
enough, the Ratarajya is said to have consisted of ‘seven lacs villages.
This Ratarajya did not include Karnata so far as it has been separately
mentioned in the same chapter. Therefore these numbers evidently
indicated something fabulous and exaggerated in them. But one
fact is certain that, they always represented the number of villages.
If this be correct, then the solution of the problem regarding the
other provinces in southern Inida also becomes easier e.g. Banavasi
12000, Gangavadi 96000, Nolambavadi 36000, etc. Thus, the
three expressions 99000 Maharastra, Saptardha-laksa Rattapadi and
the ‘sixty lacs’ Maharastra Desa (Lilacaritra), used at three different
periods in the history of southern India, really indicate the progressive
expansion of the Maharastra country that was taking place since the
time of Pulikesi II.
Thus, once the problem of the boundaries of Maharastra is set
at rest, the statement of the author of Kaviraja-marga becomes clearer
that the boundaries of Karnataka stretched from the banks
of the river Gadavari down to those of the holy Kaveri. Rev.
H. Heras, S.J., M.A., is of the definite opinion that the word
Kannadiga must have been derived from Kananir, obtaining in the
Mohenjodaro inscriptions. 1 * Later, a Daitya named Karnata is said
to have founded Karnata, in bis own name, on the shores of the
(western?) ocean ( Skanda , 3 Adh. 18-19). Thus, this province of
the Kananirs or Karnatas was originally situated somewhere round
about Banavasi.
A. P. Karmarkar
srcjff&rr: 11
Skanda P„ Maheswar Khanda, i, Kaumarika K. 2, Adhyaya 37.
15 Karnatak Historial Review , vol. IV, Nos. 1 and 2, pp. 2^3.
The History of Bhavika in Sanskrit Poetics
Bhamaha says at the end of his Alamkaras:
aif : s^srfippr i
w«fr II
f%#UTTT%3Pfer %*m\\ ^hr(or fo)sfI?raT i
^rm^icTT %ftr <re? u hi. 52-53
Bhamaha here speaks of a concept which he calls a guna , not
of vakya, but of the prabandha as a whole. As it has been treated
at the end of Alamkaras, we have to suppose that Bhamaha con-
sidered this also as an alamkara, with this difference, that while the
rest were restricted to a vakya, this was pervasive of a whole part of a
poetic composition or of the whole composition itself. As a matter
of fact, Bhamaha calls this bhavikatva an alamkara in the'
beginning of the third chapter :
^ I HI. 4.
That Bhamaha considered this bhavikatva described as a Prabandha
guna as an alamkara is confirmed by the words of the Jayamahgala
on Bhatti also:.
wfawreifTC: 38»: I
What is this bhavikatva? Bhamaha defines this as the quality
which pertains to that part of a composition where the ideas of the
past and the future presented by the poet are so vivid as to look like
belonging to the present. The term ‘Prabandha’ may be rendered
here as ‘that part of the poem’ on the force of the word ’ yatr a’ and
on the basis of the Jayamahgala' which points out only one canto
in illustration of this bhavikatva. But it seems that bhavikatva is
really a quality of prime necessity which all great and good poetry
should, from beginning to end, possess. The poet is like the rsi
788 The History of Bhavika in Sanskrit Poetics
who brings through the power of his vision the past and future into
the present.
Anargharaghava , II, 34.
As one reads the poem, it should begin to live before his eyes :
that is, it should appear before the mind’s eye of the reader that the
story is happening in his very presence. It is this ‘pratyaksaya-
manatva’ which Arsa-Sahrdayas who listened to the inaugural
recitation of Valmiki’s epic said that the Adikavya possessed :
^fthrq; 1 1 . 4- «7-
Such a ‘reality’ called forth by ‘imagination’ seems to be called
by some "word derived from bhava \ bhava itself, or bhavana, or
bhavika, or bhavita, or ud bhavana. In this connection it should be
pointed out here that the twelfth ariga of the Lasya is called bhava
and bhavita and that it is defined as an ‘imaginary vision’, in which,
having seen her lover in a dream, the beloved supposes him to be
present with her and begins to give expression to consequent
emotions :
3f>51cp>*n3 =* I Ch - xx > & '39- K 5s'> Edn.
m finf m n^racrrfqsrr i
4*tf% fafW flNFT n *>• ! 5 2 - ihid -
Abhinava, who does not accept more than ten las yah gas, refers to
others who proposed two more lasyahgas arid here, he gives the
bhavita as bhavika.
fWT? ^ etc-
p. 510. vol, II. Abhi, Bha. Madras Ms,
In the Bha. Pra„ Saradatanaya also gives it as bhavika.
To return to Bhamaha, — the means to achieve this bhavikatva
are mentioned by Bhamaha in the second verse. They are three :
citrodattadbhutarthatvam, kathayah svabhifpt vi)nitata, and sab da-
nakulata. Of these three, it seems the second should be taken first.
The History of Bhavika in Sanskrit Poetics
7 8 9
There does not seem to be any reference to drama or abhinaya here,
in the expression ‘kathayah svabhimtaia’ There is a reading
‘ svavimtata’ which the Jayamahgala supports- It simply means that
the story should progress very smoothly and with gripping interest,
there being no hitch, no vagueness and nothing mystifying. Then
comes the first means which applies to the ideas with which the
story is worked out; the arthas should be striking and exalted
enough to capture the imagination. Then comes the third means,
which refers to the verbal expression which should not be ‘involved’
or such as to prevent a quick grasp of the ideas or the story. 1
Bhatti, as interpreted by the Jayamahgala , considered that pri-
marily poetry must have prasada; hence, when after illustrating
grammar he comes to the illustration of poetics, he calls the section
prasanna kanda. Next to prasada are the alamkaras; then comes
madhurya guna illustrated by a description of dawn; next appears a
canto, the 12th, which is said to illustrate bhavikatva. The Jaya-
mahgala here says that bhavikatva is an alamkara mentioned as per-
taining to a whole composition and not to a sentence; and it results
from the ideas being ‘wonderful’ and so on. It then quotes
Bhamaha’s two verses on bhavikatva and concludes that in that
canto of mantranirnaya, deliberation in Ravana’s court, bhavikatva
must be held to have been illustrated.
*rrRf^UMcrc: srsrwrfw 1 1 )
I sl*TT (the two verses of Bhamaha
quoted above) 1 sTttff II
To begin with, this canto has 5 verses addressed to Vibhisana
by his mother, sis. 2-6. These five verses are said to illustrate
1 In the Samanyabhinaya chapter (24th, Kasi Edn.), Bharata refers to two
kinds of drama and its presentation (Prayoga), — abhyantara and bahya. In the
definition of the abhyantara natya prayoga, we find ideas similar to those by which
Bhamaha defines Bhavikatva.
snfatf *%rr<ST’ 3 II SL 7 1 -
DECEMBER, 1938
*7
79 ° The History of Bhavika in Sanskrit Poetics
udattarthatva. In the discussion and counsel that follow, one must
look for the other features, gfaflrrai, ST^TTf^TT and fasTTg-
<TT^. Says the Jayamahgala : (p. 307, N. S. edn.)
f*nrra i^mi 1 3rnf
f%r5jrr*$<g 1
^KRTf^n ^«TTqr^ II
The Jayamahgala says here only one definite thing: that the
svavinitata of katha means ‘subodhata’ easy understandability of
the story. Beyond this, we are not able to know what exactly in
this canto answer to the conditions, Udattartha, Citrartha , Adbhu-
tartha, Kathayah svavinitata, and Sabdanakulata; nor are we able
to see how in this particular canto, things of past and future are
made to appear as real as present ones. It is needless to add that
Mallinatha is of less help here.
Dandin also, like Bhaujaha, calls bhavikatva or bhavika,
a Prabandha guna. He has three verses on it, at the end of his
Alamkaras and in these verses, there are ideas not found in
Bhamaha.
W *rrfN <r ( ) fafa snj = ?pw 1
( 2 ) or
11
(3) TOTdwfe? 1
fiRtWHt (4) II
If we leave the initial agreement in calling it a prabandha guna,
we find that there is nothing of what Bhamaha said in Dandin’ s
description of the bhavika. Perhaps, the fifth idea, the clear
appearance of even a deep lying idea by the force or the sequence
of the expression, contains a faint echo of Bhamaha’ s idea of past
and future being as alive as present, Uc^TfT JRITsfi I AH
the other ideas in Dandin numbering four turn on the derivation of
The History of Bhavika in Sanskrit Poetics 791
bhavikatva from bhava, so clearly stated in idea number one. The
several parts or sections of a composition being mutually helpful,
avoidance of the needless details, descriptions only at places proper
for them — all these are ideas of aucitya, common in later days but
striking in an early writer. All these ideas of aucitya flow out of the
idea of the poet ( kavibhdva ) and Dr. De finds here a
(as Ananda would say) of the aesthetical'problem of poetry being
the expression of the poet’s mind, with which western poetics is so
much concerned and Sanskrit poetics so little. 2 But what Dandin
actually meant by Kavi-abhipraya can only be conjectured; and the
commentators are of little help. It is however clear that bhavikatva
was in vogue among critics in the pre-Bhamaha days and that when
we come to Bhamaha and Dandin, already guess-work had started.
Dandin’s bhavika as Kavi-abhipraya, the mutual helpfulness of
parts etc., died with him. No later writer revived it. For the later
writers, the bhavika was what Bhamaha gave them through
Udbhata.
Udbhata made it a definite alamkara casting off the adjunct,
Prabandha guna. He defines it towards the close of the sixth varga,
in a single verse :
si^trr: *rrf¥w 11 k.a.s.s.
Bhavi^wz has now definitely become hhxwika. Udbhata felt
that in the expression, Citrodattadbhutartha, there is much redun-
dance; he satisfied himself with a single qualification of artha,
atyadbhuta. He left off Bhamaha’s second condition, ‘kathayah
svabhinitata.’ Perhaps honesty is responsible for Udbhata’ s
omission of this un-understandable bit. ' Sabdanakulata recurs here
as ‘vacam anakulya-’ The main definition of bhavika given by
2 See his Intro, to V.J., p. xx, Skr. Poetics, II, p. 63, f.n., and Pathak Com.
Vol, p. 355.
792 The History of Bhavika in Sanskrit Poetics
Bhamaha, the present-like appearance of the past and future, is re-
tained by Udbhata.
Pratihareriduraja occupies an important place in the history of
Bhavika. At his hands the concept reached its widest interpreta-
tion. While commenting on Udbhata, he quotes and explains
Bhamaha’s two verses on bhavikatva; and Dandin’s explanation —
bhavah kaveh abhiprayafc — is also found absorbed in Pratiharendu-
raja’s imaginative exposition of bhavika. ‘Vacam anakulya’ in
Udbhata and ‘Sabdanakulata in Bhamaha are interpreted by him as
the quick delivery of t‘he meaning, a quality of the words allied to
prasada and arthavyakti; prasada and arthavyakti are to be included
here in this bhavika and not vice versa, as Ruyyaka adds.
I Pratiharendu, p. 79. 3
j; Ruyyaka, A.S.]
Pratiharenduraja makes bhavika the very essence of rasa-
realisation. It has been pointed out by Ananda ( Dhva . A., II, xi,
p. 82.) that prasada is pre-eminently necessary for rasa-realisation.
The second condition is directly related by Prati-
harenduraja to rasa-realisation by interpreting ‘svabhinitata’ as
referring to the clear presentation (abhinaya) of the rasas.
fowl 1 R&i saw 1 p- 8o -
The other condition of artha being Citra, Udatta and Adbhuta
is emphasised by Pratiharendu as a feature of artha corresponding to
the feature of sabda called sabda anakulata.
w w snfcicmf'r
Ideas should be exalted, expression transparent and emotion
graphically presented. When these are there, the Sahrdaya’s mind
3 Edn. Banhatti, 1925.
793
The History of Bhavika in Sanskrit Poetics
realises completely the poet’s mind mirrored in his poetry.
Thus Pratiharenduraja touches Dandin’s *TTf : wfwsPP and Bhatta
Nayaka’s HFRr TO?R. It appears Pratiharenduraja’ s idea of
bhavika has affinities with the concept of Imagination, lying at the
basis of not only poetic creation but also of the critic s aesthetic re-
creation of poetry in his enjoyment of it. Pratiharenduraja actually
says that bhavika refers both to the poet and to the Sahrdaya between
whom a circuit of experience is completed.
^TfvrJiRT^ i sfMiiwfa f? trcrPp*-
sfi^TssrrefiiEiH: tf£N<1t?rr ^ vnfsRtsfa era - r; ^nhrsRr-
srtot ^ TOFtl i * * * *
^natprRflrr^^ f% ) tRtrpb *rrf^ i srt
sfifafafcpfr *TTTOT WftTRf^P^pRTFI 3^$<37^ fa twite'll^
i *mits%rfcRra *rr%3T i ; —
«
‘TOtimfr i
^rrr cTcSWtn 3 ft TO n’
II pp- 79 - 8 °-
Udbhata’s illustration is a verse in which reference is made to a
damsel having had ( bhiita ) collyrium in her eye, and to her future
avi) wearing of ornaments! Pratiharendu no doubt offers some
comments on the illustration but what a far cry from the great con-
cept of aesthetics that bhavika is to hifn and to what is said to be
illustrated in this verse!
Mammata 1 takes his idea of bhavika from Udbhata, but in his
definition, he omits two ideas, first, the qualification of things by
4 ‘Bhava’ alariikara in Rudrata has nothing to do with the bhavika of this
paper, which is absent in Rudrata.
794 The History of Bhavika in Sanskrit Poetics
the attribute and second, the means, Wl^f Mam-
mata’s illustration is much the same as Udbhata’s : the lover
says that he can see that there was collyrium in the lady’s eyes and
he can imagine also how she will look when she is adorned with
ornaments! It is however not the mention in so many ideas and
words of the past and future that is meant by Bhamaha when he
says that bhavika is the quality which makes the past and future
event so vivid as to appear like happening before our very eyes.
But through Udbhata, and Mammata also, a great concept of
aesthetics fell to the place of a narrow rhetorical figure of a Vakya.
When bhavika was reduced to this state, trouble arose and
writers had to show that it did not overlap two others, viz.,
Svabhavokti on one side and Rasokti on the other. Mammata’ s
commentator, Vidyacakravarttin, explains why Mammata omitted
from his definition of the bhavika the statement of the means,
sabdanakulya: When things cf the past and future are visualised,
there are two possibilities : The things by themselves may possess
a power and beauty whereby their mere mention may make them
look like being actually present before us; or this quality of their
becoming vivid enough as to appear like things of the present may
be wrought in them through the extraordinary gifts of expression in
the poet, ‘sabdanakulya’ etc. To Bhamaha and Udbhata, only the
latter cases were bhavika; for to become an alamkara, a poet’s powers
must have added something . 5 Mammata however thinks that both
cases are bhavika; though it is true that for an alamkara there has
to be something wrought by the poet, we have ‘svabhavokti’ where
the beauty is more or less ‘siddha’; even so, a presentation of such
5 This statement of Bhamaha’s and Udbhata’s view of Bhavika by Vidya-
cakravarttin does not seem to be wholly correct; for, by the adjuncts
t$c4 . and (*TTWp), both Bhamaha and Udbhata mean that the things, by
themselves also, must have something striking and gripping.
795
The History of Bhavika in Sanskrit Poetics
past and future things as possess an innate beauty and power is also
a case of ‘bhavikalamkara’ ; otherwise, we will have to commit the
flaw of logical gaurava by creating a new name for this variety.
Ruyyaka, in his Alamkara Sarvasva , first followed the older writers,
but in the end quoted and reconciled Mammata to the older posi-
tion, by accepting two varieties of bhavika. Vidyacakravarttin here
takes Visvanatha to task for not understanding Ruyyaka properly
and this has been set forth by the present writer at some length in a
note in the Annals of the BORl., vol. XIV. pp. 251-2, 254. It is
needless to quote Vidyacakravarttin’s text here. (T.S.S. edn. of the
K. Pra., pt. II, 346-7),
It was seen in Pratiharenduraja’s exposition of the bhavika how
this concept became, at his hands, the very soul of rasa-realisation
and how, on reading it, our minds went to Bhatta Nayaka’s
bhavana, and the concept of Imagination. See Ruyyaka :
1 *rFRrrs. 7 T 1 ^ 1
st ^ 5tt?rt sh^ctht ff?
flTRTcWni. I Pp- 22I_22 3- T.S.S. Edn. A.S.,
which Bhatta Gopala reproduces thus in his gloss on the K.Pra . —
*nw WI^TT s*3*#<TRr ftfflwiwwi fr wrw w ^rar-
fiR I” P- 347- T S S - edn - n -
This relates bhava or bhavana more definitely to the reader also
as Pratiharenduraja did.
To begin with, Ruyyaka also defined (in the Sutra) bhavika as
simply as IVIammata , as the Pratyaksayamanatva of bhuta and
‘bhavi’, without mention of the means sabdanakulata. But, in the
Vrtti, he mentioned the adbhutatva’ of the ‘artha’ and the ‘anaku-
lata’ of the ‘sabda.’ Ruyyaka then points out that this bhavika
796 The History of Bhavika in Sanskrit Poetics
cannot be mistaken for or included in bhrantiman , atisayokti,
pratiyamana, utpreksd, kavyalihga, rasavan and svabhavokti.
Among these, we shall concern ourselves only with Ruyyaka’s dis-
tinction of bhavika from the last two, rasavadalamkara and
svabhavokti. 6
The gloss on Udbhata published as Tilaka’s in the GOS.
points out how the bhavika would collide with svabhavokti and
rasavadalamkara.
^TTWl%: I
p. 51, GOS. Edn.
Svabhavokti and rasavad (i.e., rasokti as Bhoja would say) are
easily distinguished. They are both direct and graphic presentation,
the former of objects and the latter of emotions. The former creates
a Vastu-samvada in our mind; it rouses a mental image. The latter
creates a cittavrtti samvada, an emotional image.
AS. Ruyyaka , N.S. Edn. with Jayaratha’s gloss, p. 181.
f? ^#rfHfrFRTc%T f^tr: I 5F#cT: I
Jayaratha’s Vimarsini on the AS p. 181.
From Mammata as explained by Vidyacakravarttin, we under-
stand that the difference between the bhavika and svabhavokti is
firstly, in point of time, i.e., things in bhavika were either past or
future; and secondly, in the restricted scope of svabhavokti, which
can describe only an object’s own natural form and action, (svak-
riya rupavarnana). But Ruyyaka says that bhavika differs from
both rasavad and svabhavokti in being an objective realisation in
which the reader sees a thing as a yogin (bhinna sarvajna) sees the
6 See the closing paragraph of the present writer’s paper on Svabhavokti,
Indian Culture, V ? ii, pp. 164-5. Ruyyaka shows how Bhavika differs from Prasada
guna also.
79 7
The History of Bhavika in Sanskrit Poetics
past and future; in svabhavokti and rasokti, the limiting contextual
references get sunk; subject-object duality merges and not only is
there a generalised or universalised experience (sadharanikrta) with
reference to the characters presented in the poem or drama, but there
is also, for the time, a loss or forgetting of the individuality of the
reader or the spectator.
'TRniTstrfoiT. ^
^€#1^ 51#%: I
Rnffif i *rrqr-
*?#T I r a#%: i
‘ p. 224, AS., T.S.S. Edn.
Ruyyaka adds another difference between bhavika and svabha-
vokti : in the former, only a miraculous (adbhuta and lokottara,
witness his illustration etc.) incident figures, whereas
in the latter any ordinary idea. But this difference he casts off.
at once by' saying that there may be cases of vivid realisation of even
ordinary things of this world, but then it would be a bhavika with
an element of svabhavokti. Surely Ruyyaka does not mean that
alone in such a case makes up the bhavika and the vastu
being laukika makes up the svabhavokti . 7
pp. 224-5 Ruyyaka. AS., T.S.S. Edn.
So, the main difference by which Ruyyaka would distinguish
bhavika from svabhavokti and rasavad is that in the two latter cases,
the pratiti is sadharana. But this again is a thin prop, to be given
up. What kind of realisation in poetry can there be without
sadharanikarana? This universalisation has to come about, even
in the case of bhavika. Ruyyaka no doubt knows this but he
7 As Samudrabandha mistakes in his gloss, pp. 224-5, T S S - Edn -
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
79 8
T he History of Bhavika in Sanskrit Poetics
adds, that when this sadharanikarana floods the heart of the reader,
the bhavika becomes rasavad.
R: TO* I P- 22 4- AS - T s s - Edn -
V. Raghavan
8 (a) Manikyacandra adopts Ruyy aka’s distinction of bhavika from svabha-
vokti and rasavad. See p. 408. Mysore Edn. of the K. Pra.
(b) Hemacandra says that bhavika is either svabhavokti or some feature per-
taining purely to drama; that if it is pointed out to be present in Muktakas, it is
not found to be delectable! p. 293, K. A. Vya.
(c) Since bhavika is said to present pictures separated by time, the Candraloka
adds a kin-alamkara called bhavikacchavi for presentation of things separated by
space..
sf SRRt II v - "+
(d) For the connection bhavika bears to the clear presentation and realisation
of rasa* see the following verse of Sri Harsa in his Naisadhiya Carita :
^swKn*q»i Rr;: « XIX - *•
Doctrines of the Sarvastivada School of Buddhism*
II
Re. maitri and karuna
The S. in consonance with the Th. regard Buddha as a human
being but they attribute to him divine, sometimes super-divine,
powers. They look upon the Bodhisattvas as average beings
( putbujjana ), who must destroy the samyojanas like an average adept
in order to step into the samyakatvaniydma or sotapannahood.
According to the S. “sentient beings are not objects
of maitri and karuna and so forth on the part of the Buddha,” and
further “if anyone adheres to the view that there are sentient beings,
he cannot realize emancipation.”
The former opinion is opposed in the Kvu. (XVIII. 32 : Nattbi
Buddhasa Bbagavato karuna ti) on the ground that the Buddha is
described in the texts as ‘karumko’ and that he sometimes enters into
mahakarunasamapatti and so he has karuna for sentient beings.
In the Pali texts, the practice of four brahma viharas, maitri, karuna,
mudita and upekkha forms an essential part of the Theravada code of
sadhana. It is by means of brahmaviharas that an adept is able to
look upon all beings as same; in other words, developes samatajnana.
As regards the second opinion we may state that the Buddhist
doctrine of anatta teaches that there are actually no individual beings,
and that it is avijja which makes one think of the existence of beings.
Applying this to the case of Buddha, the S. are only stating the axio-
matic truth that to the Buddha’s eye no beings exist and as such
they cannot be the object of his maitri and karuna.
* Continued from vol, XIV, p. 120.
8oo Doctrines of Sarvastivada School of Buddhism
There are three other views relating to Buddha’s teachings,
which are opposed to those of the Mahasanghikas 12 and are in con-
sonance with the human conception of Buddha. They are,
(i) The Buddhas cannot expound all doctrines with a single
utterance.
(ii) The world-honoured One utters words which are not
always in conformity with the truth.
(iii) The sutras delivered by Buddha have nit art ha s and there
are even some anitartha-siitras.
Re. Arhats
According to the Sarvastivadins, Vasumitra says, —
(i) A srotapanna has no chance of retrogression while an
arhat has.
(ii) All arhats do not gain anutpada-jnana.
(iii) An arhat is governed by the pratityasamutpadahga
(members of the causal law).
(iv) Certain arhats perform meritorious deeds.
(v) Arhats are not free from the influence of past karma.
(vi) Arhats gain naivasaiksa-nasaiksajnana.
(vi 0 Arhats gain the four fundamental dhyanas : they can-
not realise the fruits of dhyana.
The first opinion that arhats may have retrogression is the same
as that of the Mahasanghikas (discussed before, sec IHQ., XIII,
p. 565). The S. like the M. postulate the existence of two classes of
arhats with different degrees of attainments. 14 According to the S.,
12 All these views have been discussed before, see IHQ., XIII, p. 554.
13 The word nltartha means expressions which do not convey the real sense
directly as the neyyartha would do. Nltartha corresponds to samrrmti or
samvrti-satya. V
14 See Kosa, vi. 64 : The . ubhayatobhagavimutta-arhats realise nirodha-
samapatti and remove both klesavarana (obstacle of passions) and vimoksavarana
(obstacle to the knowledge of akarmanyata of nama and rupa) while the
Doctrines of Sarvastivada School of Buddhism 801
all arhats are not completely perfect — an opinion not accepted by the
Theravadins though the latter have no objection to distinguish
arhats as Sa( = sva)-dbammakusala and Para-dhammakusala. It is
interesting to find this opinion discussed also in the Milindapanha , 15
where it is said that there are arhats who may not be aware of the
name and gotra of any and every person, the various roads and so
forth, but there may be some conversant with the vimuttis . 16
The second opinion reiterates the first in another form. The S.
hold that some and not all arhats gain the anulpadajnana (lit. know-
ledge of the cessation of rebirth) but all may have ksayajmna (lit.
knowledge of the extinction of all impurities in oneself). 17 The M.
assert that only Buddhas and not arhats can have both ksayajnana
and anutpadajhana , lR
Regarding the third opinion, Mr. Masuda on the basis of
‘Shu-chi says that of the twelve members of the causal law, four, viz.,
namarupa, sadayatana, phassa and vedana — (or, according to another
interpretation, only vedana) remain active in the case of arhats, the
other members, i.e., avijja, samkhara, tanha, upadana, bhava, jati,
and jara-marana becoming ineffective. The Chinese interpretation can
be accepted, only if “vedana” is limited to “adukkha-asukha-vedana”
for an arhat is chalupekkho 19 (endowed with indifference in respect
Prajnavimukta-arhats arc those who remove only klesavarana by means of prajna;
see also /HQ., XIII, p. 562. For the six kinds of arhats, see Kosa, vi. 56ft.
15 Milindapanha, p. 2 67 : Avisayo maharaja ekaccassa arahato sabbam jani-
tum na hi tassa balam atthi sabbam janitum. Cf. Kvu., II, 2 in /HQ., XIII,
P- 5 6a -
16 The five vimuttis are, — (i) tadangavimutti or vippasanahana attained by
removing the misconceptions of nicca, nimitta etc, vikkhambhanav. or paccavek-
khananana, samucchedav. or maggahana, patipassaddhiv. or phalahana, and
nissaranav.
17 See IHQ XIII, pp. 555, 561-2.
18 See Kosa , ii. p. 109, f.n. 4; vi, 24, 67.
19 See Dlgha.y iii, p. 245; Majjhlma , iii, p. 219. /HQ., XIII, p. 564, n.
8o2 Doctrines of Sarvastivada School of Buddhism
of the six indriyas), i.e. the organs of sense come into contact with
the respective objects but produce neither good nor bad feeling.
The fourth opinion speaks of the punnopacaya of an Arhat.
The Th. reject it; so also the Mahasanghikas. 20 The Arhats are
said to have done all that is to be done ( katakaramya ) and are beyond
merit and demerit, good or bad; hence to speak of some of them as
collecting merits shows that the S. like the Andhakas do not look
upon all arhats as completely perfect. 21
The fifth opinion that arhats are subject to the influence of past
karma is perhaps based upon some instances found in the Pitakan
stories that Arhats like Angulimala and Mahamoggallana suffered
pain on account of their past karma. 22
The sixth opinion, as presented by Mr. Masuda, appears to be
ambiguous, 23 and preference should be given to the meaning
“nirvana” assigned by the Mahavyutpatti to naivasaiksanasaiksa.
The sense would then be that some and not all arhats attain Nirvana
(full emancipation) according to the S.
The seventh opinion has not been taken up for discussion in
the Kvu. The Kosa (viii. 6) tells us that there are eight fundamental
dhydnas (maulasamapattidravyani), i.e., four dhyanas and four
arupyas (higher dhyanas). The contention of the S. is that all arhats
complete the four dhyanas but all do not necessarily attain the fruits
of the four dhyanas, 21 which are detailed in the Kosa (viii. 27-28),
thus: by the first dhyana, one obtains drsta-dharma-sukhavihara 2 ''
20 1 HQ., XIII, P . 563. 2i Ibid.
22 See Milindapanha , p. 134: Na hi maharaja sabbantam vedayitam kam-
mamulakam. See also Kvu., VIII. 11: kammahetu araha arahatta parihayatiti?
23 “For arhants there are things which are no longer to be learnt and things
which are still to be learnt.” Asia Major , p. 49.
24 Digha , iii. 222, Ahg ii. 4: Atth’ avuso samadhibhavana bhavita bahuli-
kata ditthadhammasukhaviharaya sarnvattati nanadassanapatilabhaya satisam-
pajannaya asavanam khayaya sarnvattati.
25 lit* enjoyment of happiness in the present body (Pali, ditthadhammasukha-
vihara).
Doctrines of Sarvastivada School of Buddhism 803
by the second )hana-darsana, (or divya-caksurabhijhd ); 2G by the third
prajna-prabheda , 27 and by the fourth andsravatd . 28
Re. Samyakatvanyama 29
Vasumitra attributes the following opinions to the
Sarvastivadins : —
(1) A person can enter the samyakatvanyama through the
meditation of siinyata and apranihitata; only one in the
samyakatvanyama is called pratipannaka up to the
fifteenth (or the last) moment of the darsanamarga. In
the sixteenth moment he is called phalastha when he is
in bhavanamarga.
(ii) A person can enter the samyakatvanyama and can also
gain arhatship independently of the four dhyanas.
(iii) A person can gain arhatship but not samyakatvanyama
if he is in either Rupa or Arupa-dhatu. It is only when
he is in Kamadhatu that he can enter the samyakatva-
nyama as also attain arhathood.
Allied to the above there are two other views attributed to
the S., viz.,
(iv) There are also certain devas who lead a holy life.
(v) There is no one who is free from passion in the Uttara-
kuru. No saint is born there or in the Asannisattvaloka.
The first three opinions raise the question of samyakatvanyama,
i.e. of persons who are destined to attain Nibbana, and have no
chance of being diverted from the aryan path and going to lower
26 lit. insight into real state of things i.e. free from any vikalpa. ( = Pali
nanadassana).
27 lit. special or detailed knowledge of tilings of the world — the corresponding
Pali expression is satisampajnna.
28 lit purity (Pali asavanain khaya).
29 For references see Kosa, vi, p. 18 1 f.n.
804 Doctrines of Sarvastivada School of Buddhism
states os joining heretical sects. An adept in samyakatvanyama is
the same as sotapattimaggapatipanna, i.e., one after destroying the
three samyojanas, viz., sakkayaditthi, silabbataparamasa and vici-
kiccha is on the way to sotapattiphala. According to the scheme of
the S., an adept remains srotaapattiphala-pratipannaka for the first
fifteen moments, i.e., up to the development of marge anvayajnana-
ksanti, 30 when he completes the darsanamarga; from the 16th
moment he is in bhavana-marga and is a srotaapattiphalastha or
srotaapanna.
The first opinion raises the question whether one can become
a srotaapattiphalapratipannaka by the meditation of sunyata (i.e.
anattataj and apranibitata (i.e. duhkhata and anityataf x and not of
animittata ; 32 the answer given by the S. is in the affirmative.
The second deals with the problem whether samyakatva-
nyama followed by arhathood can be attained without the practice of
the four dhyanas, the S. asserting that it is possible to attain arhat-
hood by means of certain practices other than the usual four
dhyanas, e.g. by means of satipatthana or brahmavihara and so forth.
The third is concerned with the problem whether gods in the
Rupa or Arupadhatu can gain samyakatvanyama as also arhathood.
The S. hold that they can attain the latter but not the former which
ran only be attained by a being while in the Kamadhatu. This
problem is discussed in the Kvu. (I. 3): A 7 atthi devesu brahma-
cariyavaso ti ?— an opinion held by the Sammitiyas. The opinion
of the S. is upheld by the Th. . In the Kvu. it is contended that
“brahmacariyavasa” does not mean merely pabbajja (ordination),
“mundiyam” (shaven-headedness) and so forth as held by the
Sammitiyas, but includes “maggabhavana. ’ The Th. and the S.
30 See infra, p. 794.
31 Cf. Asia Major, II, p. 40, n. 9.
.32 Mr. Masuda on the basis Fa. jen states that Dharmagupta held that one
cannot attain samyakatvanyama without animittasamadhi, Asia Major, p. 40, n. 9.
Doctrines of Sarvastipada School of Buddhism 805
hold that the anagamis do not come to the Kamadhatu but they
remain in Rupa or Arupadhatu, and by maggabhavana there, they
become Arhats, without becoming a samyakatvanyama.
The fourth opinion of the S. is that the gods except the
Asannisattas can have maggabhavana, though not pabbajja,
mundiyam, etc.
The fifth opinion is based on a passage of the Ang. Nik. (iv.
396) and cited in the Kvu. (I. 3, p. 99) in which it is said that the
inhabitants of Jambudipa surpass those of Uttarakuru and Tavatimsa
heaven in courage, mindfulness and in religious life (brahmacariya-
vasa ); 33 from this it has been inferred that there cannot be any saint
in Uttarakuru.’ 4 It has been mentioned above that the S. as well
as the Th. exclude the Asannisattas from the gods who follow a reli-
gious life, and so, among the Asannisattas also there cannot be any
saint. 35
Re. Anupubbabhisamaya
Vasumitra attributes the following views to the Sarvastiva-
dins : — *
(1) The four truths are to be meditated upon gradually.
(ii) The catur-sramanyaphala are not necessarily attained
gradually.
(lii) If one is in samyakatvanyama, he can attain (at once) the
fruits of sakrdagami and anagami on account of (the
completion of) the laukikamarga.
33 Points of the Controversy 9 p. 73.
34 The S. are making an anomaly in drawing the inferences. If Uttarakuru
cannot have any saint how the Tavatimsa can have any?
35 Mr. Masuda points out (in the f.n., Asia Major a p. 46) that Uttarakuru is
regarded as a land of pure happiness and the Asannisattvas as the highest devaloka
with long life and happiness; hence the beings of these two abodes need not take
to religious life.
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
*9
8o 6
Doctrines of Sarvastivada School of Buddhism
An adept, according to the S., develop insight into the four
truths in a gradual order 3 ® in 15 moments thus: —
Darsana-marga
(i) Duhkhe (or five skhandhas, i.e. nama-
rupe) dharmajnana-ksanti 37
(ii) Duhkhe dharmajnana
(iii) Duhkhe anvayajnana-ksanti 38
(iv) Duhkhe anvayajnana
Srotapatti-pratipannaka-darsanamarga
(v) Samudaye (sasravadharmanam hetu i.e.,
karmaklese) dharmajnana-ksanti
(vi) Samudaye dharmajnana
(vii) „ anvayajnana-ksanti
(viii) „ anvayajnana
(ix) Nirodhe (pratisamkhya-nirodha or karma- ^
klesa-ksaye) dharmajnana-ksanti. > confined to Kamadhatu.
(x) Nirodhe dharmajnana )
(xi) „ anvayajnanaksanti 1 extended to Rupa and
(xii) „ anvayajnana / Arupndhatus.
(xiii) Marge (saiksa asaiksa dharma or samatha- ^
vipasyanayam) dharma jnanaksanti
(xiv) Marge dharmajnana
(xv) Marge anvayajnanaksanti
Srotfipatti-phalastha-bhayanamarga
(xvi) Marge anvayajnana 39
36 Cf. Koia, vi. 2:
37 Ksanti means “faith” (ksamate=rocate, Kosa. vi. 18). An adept at the first
moment thinks that he has realised (though actually he has not realised) the fact
that the things of the Kamadhatu i.e. the skandhas are undesirable. It is in the
second moment that he realises that the skandhas are undesirable. He acquires now
dharmajnana.
38 After the realisation of the actual state of skandhas of the Kamadhatu, the
adept extends his inner vision to the skandhas of Rupa and Arupa-dhatus to realise
in the next two moments that skandhas of the higher worlds are also undesirable
and hence existence in any of the worlds is to be avoided. In the same way, the
other three truths are to be understood.
39 Cf. Vibhanga, pp. 235, 315, 329.
confined to Kamadhatu.
extended to Rupa and
Arupndhatus.
| confined to Kamadhatu.
^ extended to Rupa and
/ Arupadhatus.
| confined to Kamadhatu.
^ extended to Rupa and
J Arupadhatus.
Doctrines of Sarvastivada School of Buddhism 807
From the above table it is evident how the S. mark the gradual
stages of the development of insight into the four truths. In the
Kvu. the controversies : Anupubbabhisamayo ti? (II. 9) and
Odhisodhiso kilese jahatiti ? (I. 4) and also Vimuttam vimuccamanan
ti? (III. 4), support scheme of the S. about the gradual realisation
of the truths. The problem discussed is whether an adept
realises the four samannaphalas including vimutti gradually
or not? The Th. contend that there is no bar to the
realisation of all the phalas at one and the same time. The S. subs-
cribe to this view as will be apparent from the second opinion of the
S. quoted above, except that they do not include the fourth phala,
viz., arhathood or vimutti. 40 Buddhaghosa should have pointed out
this discrepancy as far as the S. are concerned. According to him,
the opinion that the realisation of the phalas happens gradually is
held by the Sammitiyas.
In the third point, it is stated that according to the S., those
adepts only who have completed the laukikamarga 41 attain the
second and third phalas at one and the same time. The Th. hold
that bhavanamarga which commences from the srotapattiphala
stage is lokottara and cannot be laukika; the S-, however, contend
that it may be either laukika or lokottara. A topic allied to this is
discussed in the Kvu. (I. 5), which will be dealt with hereafter.
Re. Puthujjana, Laukikamarga or Laukikagradharma
the S., as pointed out by Vasumitra, hold: —
(i) An average man is able to destroy raga and pratigha in
the Kamadhatu.
(ii) A puthujjana can die in a good state of mind.
40 There may be ascetics who obtain the four fruits gradually (anupurvena
catuhphalaprapti). Kosa, vi. 45.
41 Kosa . vi, 45: The bhavana-marga is of two kinds: laukika or sasrava and
lokottara or anasrava.
8o8 Doctrines of Sarvastivada School of Buddhism
(iii) There is laukikasamyagdrsti and laukikasraddhendriya.
(iv) The laukikagradharma is a stage lasting but one moment
(ekaksanikacitta) .
In the Buddhist texts a puthujjana (an average man), whether
a householder or a recluse, who has not yet destroyed the three
samyojanas viz., sakkayaditthi, vicikiccha and silabbataparamasa in
order to become a sotapanna, can hardly be expected to destroy raga,
dosa, moha which impurities are normally removed when an adept
reaches the anagami stage. The S. hold that a puthujjana is able to
remove from his mind raga and pratigha which is the same as dosa
or vyapada. The Th. discuss this view in the Kvu. in these words :
Jahati puthujjano kamaragabyapadan ti ? (I. 5) saying that a
puthujjana cannot completely eradicate from his mind raga
(attachment) and byapada (hatred), gross and subtle. In course of
this discussion, the Th. raise the other question: Puthujjano
kamesu vitarago saha dhammabhisamayd anagamiphale santhati ti?
{Kvu. I. 5, p. 1 12), i.e. whether an average man who is free from
kama attains with the realization of the truth the anagami stage or
not? The S., as we have seen above, answer the question
in the affirmative, but they do not think that such a puthujjana can
attain arhathood, but he can attain all the other three phalas at one
and the same time. In other words, the contention of the S. is that
a puthujjana’s attainments through laukikamarga may be of so high
an order that the moment the truth flashes in his mind he becomes
an anagami, when he completes all the necessary conditions for
anagamihood, including those of the lower two phalas/ 2
The second opinion that an average man dies with a kusala-
citta is based on many instances of upasakas dying with a good
mental state. The Th. also subscribe to this view, and hence there
is no discussion in the Kvu.
42 See Kvu., pp. 1 13-4.
Doctrines of Sarvastivada School of Buddhism 809
The third opinion is the same as that of the Th. and is opposed
to that of the Mahasanghikas. (For discussion, see IHQ., XIV,
p. 572).
The fourth opinion is not touched in the Kvu. but has been
dealt with fully in the Kosa (VI. 19) thus: —
tr^rcjr 5 m 1 etc.
If the conviction (ksanti) concerning the duhkha ( = skandhas)
of the Kamadhatu be the strongest, it lasts only for a moment; so
also are the agradharmas, i.e., laukikagradharmas, 43 which though
sasrava (impure) are the highest of the worldly dharmas and lead
one to the darsana-marga (way to the realisation of truths).
The point is that a puthujjana, according to the S., may attain
spiritual progress up to the anagami stage by taking to satipatthana
and such other practices which are laukika so long as they are prac-
tised by one who is not yet in one of the maggas and phalas.
Re. Anusayas and Paryavasthanas
the S. are of opinion that: —
(i) All the anusayas are caitasika ; they are cittasamprayukta
and are also objects of thought (alambana).
(“) All the anusayas can be included in the paryavasthanas
but all paryavasthanas are not anusayas.
The above two opinions are diametrically opposed to those of
the Mahasanghikas, and in full agreement with those of the Th.
The topics are dealt with in the Kvu. fully (see IHQ., XIV, p. 569),
in which it is shown that anusayas are not without arammana; they
are not avyakata (neither good nor bad); they are the same as the
paryavasthanas ( = pariyutthanas) which again are not cittavippa-
yutta. The S. distinguish the anusayas from paryavasthanas, saying
all paryavasthanas are not anusayas while the vice versa is true.
43 Cf. Sutralahkara, xiv. 23: laukikagradharmavastha=ariantaryasamadhi.
Kosa, vi, p. 166, n. agradharma=dharma-smrtyupasthana.
810 Doctrines of Sarvdstivada School of Buddhism
/
Re. M editation
the Sarvastivadins hold that
(i) In the state of samabita one can utter words.
(ii) No man ever dies in the state of samabita.
(iii) It may be said that four smrtyupasthanas can include all
the dharmas.
(iv) All the dhyanas are included in the smrtyupasthanas.
(v) There are four lokottara-dhyanas.
( vi ) The bodhyangas are acquired in seven samapattis and
not in others.
The first opinion is in agreement with the Mahasanghikas, and
as such has been refuted by the Th. in the Kvt*. (see IHQ., XIV,
PP ; 57 2 ' 3 )-
The second is opposed by the Rajagirikas but is accepted by
the Th, and as such is discussed in the Kvu. (XV. 9) : Sannavedayita-
nirodham samdpanno kalam kareyya ti P The Th. contend that
a meditator when in the sannavedayitanirodhasamapatti cannot have
any death-like (maranantiko) contact, feeling, perception, etc. or is
not affected by poison, weapon-stroke or fire; hence to speak of them
as dying while in meditation is wrong. The opponents contend
that there is no such law ( niyama ) that a meditator while
in sannavedayitanirodha will not die.
The third topic is discussed in the Kvu. (I. 9) : sab be dhamma
satipatthanan ti P — .an opinion attributed by Buddhaghosa to the
Andhakas. The interpretation of Buddhaghosa is that the oppo-
nents meant by satipatthana the objects which form the basis of
sati (satiya patthana, satigocara, satiya patitthlna). 44 In this sense
the second opinion may be explained, tb wit, the satipatthanas
include all forms of meditation, i.e., an adept practising satipatthana
44 Kasa. vi. 14: Le smttyupasthina est triple: smrtyafasthina en soi
(svabhava), par connexion ( samsarga ), en qualite d’object (alambanasmrtyupasthana).
Doctrines of Sarvastivada School of Buddhism 8n
needs not have recourse to other meditational practices. The S. may
well point to the well-known statement found in many places of the
Nikayas (vide Majjhima , I. pp. 55-6), that there is only one way to
the attainment of purity and that is the practice of satipatthana.
(ekayano ayam maggo sattanam visuddhiya yadidam cattaro
satipatthana),**
The fourth opinion needs hardly any comment. It refers to the
first four dhyanas when they are practised by adepts who are in one of
the maggas and phalas. The dhyana of a maggattha or phalattha is
regarded as lokottara (supramundane). The fifth opinion evidently
refers to the contention discussed in the Kosa (VIII. 6) that of
the eight dhyanas or samapattis, the first seven are capable of elevat-
ing the mind of the adept to the purest state but not the eighth in
which samjna is in the feeblest form and as such the samapatti of
naivasamjna-nasamjhayatana is ineffective. Consequently the
attain tment of the bodhyangas takes place while the adept rises from
one dhyana to the next up till the seventh leaving nothing
for the eighth.
Re. Vijhanas
the S. assert, as stated by Vasumitra, that
(i) The pancavijnanakayas conduce to saraga and not to
viraga, because these only perceive the laksanas of
objects and have no independent thinking faculty of
their own.
If the reason adduced by the S. that the vijhanakayas by them-
selves cannot produce viraga , how can they induce saraga ? Hence,
we think there is something wrong in the translation of this reason-
ing and it would be better to accept what the Kvu. says on the point
(see IHQ., XIV, pp. 574-6).
45 Cf. Kosa, vi, p. 158. n. 1 : ^ I
aWiKift r: 1
812 Doctrines of Sarvastivada School of Buddhism
Re. Avydkrta, Asamskrtas, and Antarabhava
the following opinions are attributed to the Sarvastivadins : —
(i) There are avyakrtadharmas.
(ii) The pratityasamutpadangiktva is undoubtedly samskrta.
(iii) The samskrtavastus are of three kinds; the asamskrta-
vastus are also of three kinds.
(iv) Only in Kama and Rupadhatus there is antarabhava.
The first and second opinion are opposed to those of the
Mahasanghikas and agree with those of the Th. (see IHQ., XIV,
pp. 576-7).
The third also is not accepted by the Mahasanghikas
and agreed to by the Th. (see IHQ., XIV, pp. 577-8). The difference
between the Th. and the S. lies in the fact that the latter introduces
a new statement in accordance with their doctrine “sabbam atthi”
discussed before (IHQ., XIV, p. 114!.) that the constituted thipg
should be classified as three, viz., those in the past, present and
future (see Masuda, p. 40, n. 2).
The fourth opinion of the S. that there is antarabhava in the
Kamadhatu and Rupadhatu is neither accepted by the Mahasahghi-
kas nor by the Th. (see IHQ., XIII, p. 579). It has some agree-
ment with the Sammitiyas with whom we shall deal hereafter.
There are few other non-controversial opinions held by the S.
These are, —
(i) AH the dharmayatanas (i.e. vedana, samjna, samskara)
can be understood and attained.
(ii) Even heretics can gain five supernatural powers (see
Wassilijew, Der Buddhismus , p. 272, n. 3).
- (iii) Good (karma) can also become the cause of existence —
an opinion objected to by the Mahisasakas.
Nalinaksha Dutt
MISCELLANY
A Forgotten Moslem Invasion
Muhammad bin Kasim killed king Dahar of the Brahman
dynasty in 71 1 A.D., and conquered Sind in 712 A.D. Jaisiah,
son of Dahar, reconquered Sind during the Caliphate of Suleiman
(A.D. 715-717)- During the reign of the Caliph ‘Omar II (A.D.
717-720) Jaisiah embraced Islam in order to save his kingdom from
the further incursions of the Arabs. But during the Caliphate of
Hisham (A.D. 724-743) his general Junaid killed Jaisiah and
reconquered the province of Sind. Sometime before A.D. 738
Junaid made several attempts to establish his supremacy over
Rajputana, Malava, and t'he Deccan. But his attempts were
frustrated 1 by king Nagabhata I of Malava, Pulikesin Janasraya of
Lata, and Yasovarman of Kanauj. It is generally believed that the
Arabs under the Caliphs did not make any further attempt to
establish their supremacy beyond Sind. But the critical examina-
tion of the Indian records establishes that the Arabs led at least one
more expedition against Rajputana. 1
Khummana-Raso , 2 a work of the later period, narrates that
‘Mahmud Khorasan Pat’ invaded Chitor during the reign of
Khuman. A large number of kings of different dynasties fought on
the side of Khuman and repulsed the attack of the Moslems. Tod
says that Mahmud, referred to, is a mistake for Ma mun i.e.-
Abbasid Caliph Al-Ma’mun (A.D. 813-836), who got Khorasan,
Sind, and other Indian dependencies from his father Harun.
Ojha s suggests that Khuman is to be identified with the Guhila
1 Cach-nama, Trans, by Mirza Kalich Beg Fredunbeg, p. 143; Elliot, I, 122®.
2 Annals of Rajasthan, Tod, ed. Crook, I, 284, 291c.
3 Hist, of Rajputana, II, 420. “From Gajna came the Guhilot; the Tak
from Asir; from Njirlai the Cauhan; the Calukya from Rahargarh; from Setu-
bandha the Jarkhera; from Mandor the Khairavi; from Mangrol the Makwahana;
from Jethgarh die Joria; from Taragarh the Rewar; the Kachhwaha from Narwar;
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
20
814 A Forgotten Moslem Invasion
Khommana II, who ruled Medapata (Mewar) from, about A.D.
810-830. The list of the names of the dynasties, who joined this
struggle, as has been narrated in the Khummana-Raso, is faulty.
Many of these dynasties came into existence long after that incident.
But if the above report proves to be historic it will not be unreason-
able to assume that a confederacy was made by the Guhila king
with other Indian princes to oppose the Arabs. Khummana-Raso’ s
report has not been taken very seriously by the scholars. It does not
find place in the standard book of Indian history. This is because
the work is of late date.
Rajasekharasuri wrote his Prabandhakosd 1 in V.S. 1405 = A.D.
1348. The work gives the genealogy of the kings of the Cahamana
family of Sakambhari. It states that there was the king Vasudeva,
who was ruling in V.S. 608 = A.D. 351. The sixth king was
Govindaraja and the thirteenth king was Gamdu, who defeated the
Sultan Mahamad (Mahmud). Gomdu is identified with Govinda-
raja II, whose father Durlabharaja was ruling in 999 A.D. 5 As
there were only two kings of the name Govindaraja II in this branch
of the Cahamana line Govindaraja, mentioned as the sixth king of
the branch by the Prabandhakosa, is to be identified with Govinda-
raja I, also known as Guvaka I, son of Durlabharaja I. Govindaraja
I alias Guvaka I was a feudatory under the Pratihara Nagabhata II
from Sanchor the Kalam; from Junagarh the Dasanoh; from Ajmer the Gaur;
from Lohadargarh the Candano; from Dasaundi the Dor; from Delhi the Tuar;
fropri Patan the Cawara; the preserver of royalty (Rajdhar); from Jalor the Sonigira;
from Sirohi the Deora; from Gagraun the Khichi; the Jadon from Junagarh; the
Jhala from Patri; from Kanauj the Rathor; from Cotiala the Bala; from Piramgarh
the Gohil; from Jaisalgarh the Bhatti; the Busa from Lahore; the Sankthla from
Roneja; the Sehat from Kherligarh; from Mandalgarh the Nikhumbha; the Bar-
gujar from Rajor; from Karangarh the Candel; from Sikar the Sikkarwal; from
Umargarh the Jethwa; from Pali the Bargota; from Khantargarh the Jareja; from
Jirga the Khcrwar; from Kashmir the Parihara.”
4 Reports On Sanskrit Manuscripts in Southern India, by Hultzsch,
No, III, p. 114,
5 Ray’s Dynastic History , II, p. 1137,
A Forgotten Moslem Invasion 81^
(c. 800-836 A.D.). 6 * The Prabandhakosa 7 states that Govindaraja
(I) defeated Sultan Vega Varisa. Though the Prabandhakosa is a
work of late date, this particular incident, recorded by it, finds in-
direct corroboration in a contemporary inscription.
The Gwalior inscription 8 * of the Pratihara Bhoja (A.D.
836-892) states that ‘of him (i.e. Nagabhata II), whose mode of life
was beneficial to all mankind, the incomprehensible royal qualities
(like eloquence, statesmanship, etc.) became manifest in the world,
even from boyhood, by his forcible seizure of the hill forts of the kings
of Anarta, Malava, Kirata, Turuska, Vatsa, and Matsya.’ Dr. R. C.
Majumdar suggests that the Turuskas, referred to, were either the
Arabs or the Turuska army under the command of the Arabs. 0
The above inscription thus establishes that during the feign of
Nagabhata II i.e. sometime between A.D. 800 and 836, there was
a clash between the Pratiharas and the Arabs of Sind.
As the kingdom of Sakambhari lay on the border of the king-
dom of the Arabs of Sind it is highly probable that the Cahamana-
Govinda I participated in the battle between his master Nagabhata
II and the Arabs. Thus the report of the Prabandhakosa that
Govindaraja (I) fought with the Moslems may be accepted as true.
The Prabandhakosa states that Govindaraja’s adversary was the
Sultan Vega Varisa. 10 The Al BHadun 1 tells us that Bashar, son of
Daud, was the governor of Sind under the Khalifat Mamun (A.D.
8 1 3-833). This Bashar might have been described by Rajaiekhara-
suri in the fifteenth century as the Sultan Vega Varisa.
Khummana-Raso’s report that the Guhila Khommana II in
alliance with some princes of India repulsed an attack of the army of
the Caliph Mamun, when the. latter invaded Chitor, may be taken
6 Ibid., p. 1062. 7 Rep- Sans. MSS, Hultzsch, III, p. 114.
.8 El., XVIII, p. 1 12. * 9 Arab Invasion of Sind.
10 Hultzsch, R. S. MSS, III, 1 14. Govindarajah Suratrana Vegs Varisa namnojeta.
11 Elliot, I, 128.
816 A Forgotten Moslem Invasion
as to have referred to the same incident as what has been mention-
ed by the Prabandhakosa and the Gwalior inscription of Bhoja. If
this suggestion proves to be true it may be summarised that some
time between A.D. 813-833 Bashar, the governor of Sind under the
Caliph Mamun, invaded Chitor. The then king of Chitor, the
Guhila Khommana II, formed a confederacy with the Pratihara
Nagabhata II, the Cahamana Govindaraja I, and some other Indian
princes to put a check to the progress of the Arabs. T,he allied
army succeeded in repulsing Bashar and his forces.
The Kalacuri Kokkalla I, king of Tripuri, was born sometime
before 816 A.D., and continued to rule after 878 A.D. 12 The
Amoda plates, 13 dated K.E. 831= A.D. 1080, state that Kokkalla
“raided the treasuries of the Karnata, Vanga, Gurjara, Konkana,
and Sakambhan kings, and those born of the Turuska and Raghu
families.” It is thus evident that Kokkalla came into conflict with
the Moslems. It may be that he also joined the confederacy formed
by Khommana against the Arabs under Bashar.
We thus find that in course of a little more than hundred years
from A.D. 725 to A.D. 836 the Arabs of Sind made two attempts
to establish their sway in Rajputana. On the first occasion their
endeavour was frustrated by Nagabhata I, Yasovarman, and Puli-
kesin Janasraya. On the second occasion their object was baffled
by the combined efforts of the Pratihara Nagabhata II, the
Cahamana Govindaraja I, the Guhila Khommana II, and the
Kalacuri Kokkalla I.
D. C. Ganguly
12 Author’s “Early History of the Kalacuris of Cedi,” — IHQ., XIII, 482 ff.
*3 El . XIX, 75.
Jahangir and Nurjahan
History of Mughal India as it stands today abounds in mis-
leading facts : one of these relate to the life of the emperor Jahangir,
viz. his marriage with Nurjahan. It is stated that Jahangir fell in love
with Mehrunnisa during the life-time of Akbar, but that the
emperor having disapproved of the prince’s advances married her
off to Ali Quli Khan, a Persian noble of great courage and valour.
Jahangir, it is said, on ascending the throne contrived the murder
of his rival so as to marry the latter’s widow, that Mehrunnisa
indignantly declined his overtures but that she relaxed later and
acquiesced in Jahangir s proposal of marriage. This version is
wrong and finds no corroboration from contemporary records.
The facts of the event, as related in ‘lqbalnama , ‘Madsir-i-
Jehangtrt and other contemporary writings 'are these: Ali Quli
Khan (whose previous history it is unnecessary to relate for the pur-
pose of the present article) greatly distinguished himself for his courage
and valour at Akbar’s compaign to Thattah and rose to high
mansab in 1594 A.D. Shortly after he was married to Mehrunnisa,
daughter of Mirza Ghiyas Beg who also held a high mansab in the
Royal Court. In 1599 he was placed on the staff of Prince Salim
who was then conducting operations against Mewar. Ali Quli
Khan’s courage and intrepidity in the war won him great admira-
tion from the prince, and his valour in killing a tiger was rewarded
by the prince with the title of Sher Afghan. Then came the un-
happy cleavage between the emperor and the prince and in the
conflict that ensued Sher Afghan fought for the former. It
is possible that the relations of the prince and Sher Afghan were,
thus considerably strained, but on his accession Jahangir granted
him a generous pardon in his general scheme of amnesty to his
former opponents and donated him a jagir at Burdwan in Bengal
where he sent him with a large command. Bengal being then a
8i8
Jahangir and Nurjaban
resort of the disgruntled Afghans and the home of conspiracy and
revolt, Sher Afghan’s loyalty to the throne was suspected. The
governor, Qutbuddin, was charged to endeavour to reclaim Sher
with kindness and to send him to the court, but in the event of de-
fiance to accord him a suitable punishment. Qutbuddin did his
best to dissuade him from being refractory by all polite remons-
trances and invited him to have a personal talk with him but to no
effect. This uncompromising attitude having been reported to the
emperor, the governor was ordered to proceed to Burdwan
where Sher Afghan’s jagir was situated, apparently to arrest him.
He accordingly reached there in March 1607. Sher Afghan came
to meet the governor attended by two servants, but as he entered
the camp, a number of men of the royal troops who were placed in
ambush, rushed out and surrounded him on all sides. This was
more than what Sher Afghan had suspected. Apprehending that
all was now lost his temper rose and he drew his sword fatally
wounding the governor on the spot who expired within twelve
hours from thence. Sher Afghan was thereupon immediately
assailed on all sides and cut to pieces.
The emperor’s affliction was great indeed at the news of the
death of Qutbuddin who was his foster brother and very loving
friend. The survivors of Sher Afghan, viz. his widow Mehrunnisa
and his daughter Ladili Begam, were sent to the court where
Mehrunnisa’s father Itimad-ud-Daula held a high mansab. She
was appointed a lady-in-waiting to Sultan Salima Begam — the
dowager-empress. In March 16 u (i.e. about four years after her
arrival in the court) she happened to attract notice of the emperor
and was ultimately married to him about the end of May. 1 This
in brief is how the marriage came about.
That Jahangir had fallen in love with Mehrunnisa during the
life time of his father and' that on coming to the throne he basely
i Iqbalnama, 55-56.
Jahangir and Nurjahan 819
contrived the murder of Sher Afghan in order to marry his widow,
the contemporary historians have nowhere mentioned, neither are
these facts even corroborated by any of the contemporary foreign
writers who were but only too ready to give credence to stories cal-
culated to dishonour the names of oriental emperors. Sir Thomas
Roe, Hawkins, Terry, Joannes de Laet and others had been in
Jahangir’s court for several years and Had attained first hand know-
ledge of the details of the Mughal administration and of the domes-
tic lives of the royal personages. While they have freely mentioned
in their chronicles the various ‘scandals’ that were ‘revealed’ to them
concerning the life of Jahangir and have spared no imagination in
painting him and other members of the royal house in the blackest
colour, and while again they make frequent references to the deep
love between the emperor and his queen, none of them has even
remotely insinuated the existence of an early love and the murder
of Sher Afghan as a sequence. 2 It may be argued, and with some
force, that the contemporary writers dared not allude to any such
disgraceful incident in the life-time of Jahangir but we must re-
member that the foreigners had no such fear.
Professor Francis Gladwin, writing in the History of Jehangir 3
on the basis, as he says, of the authentic Persian MSS. of which I
had an ample collection purchased at a very great expense’ repro-
duces an extract from the MSS. which fully refutes the
charge, viz: —
“Upon the death of her husband Sher Afghan, the relatives of
the late Qutbuddin sent her to court and the emperor committed
her to the charge of Ruqya Sultana Begam with whom she lived
unnoticed by the emperor till the present festival of die New Year. 4
When, seeing her by accident he was so captivated by her extraordi-
nary beauty that he married her immediately” (i.e. four years and
2 B. Prasad, History of Jehangir, 179.
3 Pp. 51. 4 Hadi. E.D., 397-8.
820
Jahangir and Nurjahan
a few days after the death of Sher Afghan).'’ The fact that she
lived unnoticed for full four years is significant.
Joannes de Laet was a Flemish traveller to India and Jahangir’s
contemporary. He says in his book The Em fire of the Great
Moghul that the king was in love with her but gives no hint what-
ever to the Sher Afghan episode.
Apart from the fact that this story lacks corroboration from
contemporary writers, there are evidences of contradiction and
improbabilities.
In the first place it is difficult to understand why, if Jahangir
had been in love with Mehrunnisa, Akbar should have needlessly
stood in his way of marrying her, especially when Akbar knew her
to be one of the best accomplished and respectable girls of the age.
Secondly, if the marriage of Mehrunnisa with Sher Afghan
had involved the disappointment of prince Salim, a statesman of
Akbar’s wisdom and calibre would never have placed Sher Afghan’s
services at the command 1 of the prince in 1599 when the latter was
engaged in a war with Mewar. Sher Afghan’s services at the war
had always won the prince’s great admiration and there is nothing
on record to show that there was any feeling of estrangement between
the two.
Thirdly, in the prince’s revolt against Akbar, Sher Afghan
had deserted to the side of the emperor and had contributed much
to the annihilation of the prince’s forces but on his accession to the
throne, Jahangir granted him a generous pardon and gave him a
good jagir in Burdwan. Was there not some excuse then for the
new emperor to avenge himself on his rival if any such feelings had
at all existed?
Fourthly, the fact that he allowed full four years to pass bet-
ween Mehrunnisa’ s arrival in the court and the marriage shows
5 Price, op cit., 46-7.
Jahangir and Nurjahan 821
that the marriage was not pre-meditated. The gap is accounted
for by the sponsors of Sher Afghan’s murder theory by the fact
that a high souled lady as she was, she refused to marry the
murderer of her husband but that she relented afterwards. It is
indeed inconceivable that such a lady should ever have consented
to marry such a man at all even after four years. Moreover it was
impossible in those times to resist the imperial wish for such a long
time if Jahangir were really bent upon marrying her. On the other
hand the fact that she did marry the emperor when the latter took
fancy to her, without any coercion of which there is no evidence,
proves that she had no ill-will against the emperor and that she
never believed him to be in any way instrumental in the tragic death
of her late husband as a pre-arranged plan.
Lastly, the truth of the various events that Jahangir has him-
self mentioned in his Memoirs has not been generally questioned,
for that work is marked by the frankness with which he has related
matters never attempting to conceal his shortcomings and limita-
tions. He has related” his marriage with Mehrunnisa in a simple
and straightforward manner. If it may be said that he purposely
suppressed the relevant details, it can also be argued that if he were
conscious 'of his guilt he must have attempted indirectly to present
facts in a manner that would fritter away any doubts his critics
might entertain. For instance he might well have at least
emphasised the gap of four years that intervened between the death
of Sher Afghan and his marriage with the former’s widow, instead
of giving a prima facie impression which the text does, that he con-
tracted the marriage almost immediately after Sher Afghan’s death.
Mohammad Yasin
6 “As I had then no intention of marriage she did not originally come into
my family but was betrothed in the time of my father to Sher Afghan, but after
that chief was killed I sent for the Qazi and contracted a regular marriage with her”
(Translation from the Memoirs of Jekangir, p. 27).
PECEMBER, 1938
21
The Position of Mother in the Vedic Ritual
In the Vedic ritual, the position of mother is unique. She is
the highest guru and the rites, performed by her and for her, lead to
the same conclusion. She is to be respected by her children a
thousand times more than the father.
From the beginning of her conception, the mother undergoes
a series of samskaras for various purposes, but always with one object
in common — the welfare of the child. In the pre-birth samskaras
the father no doubt joins, but as these are stri-samskaras his parti-
cipation signifies nothing more than helping the mother in the pro-
per performance of these rites. His service is not indispensable
inasmuch as in his absence the brother-in-law or somebody else may
join in the performance in his stead; but some one must help her,
as during her pregnancy she is ntualistically impure, and cannot
offer oblations etc . 1
In the fourth month of her pregnancy 2 she has the rite for secur-
ing the safety of the embryo performed, her limbs are besmeared
with clarified butter along with the utterance of prayers 3 for having
all sorts of maladies removed from every part of her body. Accord-
ing to Asvalayana as quoted in the Samskara-mayUkha 4 she remains
1 Sams. R.M. of Bhatta Gopinatha (Poona, 1899), p. 813, 11 . iof.; Drah . G.S.,
II, 18; A'sv. G.K., (2nd. ed., Bombay, 1909) p. 271, 11 . 12-13. F° r t ^ lc injunctions
the mother has to follow during her pregnancy, sec Sams. R.M., p. 815, 11 . i^ff.
2 According to the Vaijavapa-grBya as quoted in the Samskara-mayuk ha,
(Bombay, 1913) p. 20, and the Sam. May. itself, this Anavalambhana may be per-
formed together with the Pumsavana or soon after it.
3 According to the Sankhayana school: RV. X, 163; cp. Sams R.M., vol. II,
p. 820, II. if.
4 In the Grhya-sutra, reference is made to some Upanisad. SK. (i.e. Saunaka
in his karika) says this rite has been mentioned in the Yajna Upanisad , F. 23, MS.
no, 4785 of the India Office Library, Biihler, 51.
The Position of Mother in the Vedic Ritual 823
lying in the shadow of the fire-shed and a kind of herb named Ajita
is put into her nostrils.
Saunaka 5 says that while she remains in the above place a girl
(kanya) should press some durva-grass in the stones along with the
sprinkling of water and get the juice out of it. The husband takes
it, touches her and murmurs hymns/' Having stood to the west
of her, he now pours into her right nostril the durva-juice in such a
way that it passes into her stomach. She then sips water and keeps
on touching the husband while she offers the oblation. Then the
husband touches her heart with his palm and prays for long life and
welfare . 7 According to Saunaka, the rite should be repeated in each
pregnancy.
In the third 8 or fourth” month of her pregnancy or even later 10
she observes the Pumsavana rite. The earliest reference to this rite
is found in the Atharva Veda." Authorities belonging to the
5 SK., F. 24.
6 Prajavat: Asv. G.S., 1, 13, 6; cp. Ap. G.S. , III, 8, 13; Hir. G.S., 1, 25, 1. 1.
Jiva-putra: Asv. G.S., 1, 13, 6; cp. Par. G.S., 1, 15, 11; Hir. G.S., i, 19, 7;
Ap. G.S., II, 5, 2.
7 The same mantra is also used for the Simantonnayana, cp. Par. G.S., 1.11.9.
8 Gobh. G.S., 2, i, 6; Kb ad. G.S. , 2, 2, 17; Par. G.S., 2nd. or 3rd. month;
Var. G.S., XVI, 5, p. 45 of Raghuvira’s ed., Asv. G.K., 4th month during the first
pregnancy, 3rd month in the other; [aim. G.S., I, 5 : 3rd month in the 1st preg-
nancy, 4th in others; Bhdr. G.S. , I, p. 22: 3rd month or baginning of the 4th;
Sams. R.M., vol. 2, p. 81 1, 3rd month; Vaijavdpa-grhya, as quoted in the Sam. May.,
p. 20: or 3rd month; Jatukarnya, op. cit.: 2nd or 3rd; SK., F. 23: 2nd or 3rd.
9 Vaik. G.S., III, II.
10 Keith. G.S., (ed. by W. Caland, Lahore, 1925). 32, 2, p. 134: Devapala,
8th month; Brahm., 7th or 8th month; Aidtya, 8th month; Ap. G.S., XIV, 9;
Battdb. G.S., I. 10, if. (p. 29, Madras ed.) : when the pregnancy has become visible;
etc. For the expiation to be made if the proper time expires, see Dr ah. G.S., II,
24; cp. Rudraskanda on Drab. GS., II, 13.
11 III, 23, cp. Kates., 35, 3; vi, 2; cp. Kates., 35, 8; vii, 17; cp. Kate's., 35, 16;
vii, ro; cp. Kan's., 35, 17; HI, 23; vi. 2. Kdth.G.S., p. 129, 3rd month; Var.G.S.,
XVI, 5th, 6th, or 7th, Asv.GS., Htr.GS., Bhar.GS., Battdb. GS., and
Ap.GS., 4th month; Gobh.G.S., 4th or 5th.; Drah.GS., II, 24, 4th or 6th;
824 The Position of Mother in the Vedic Ritual
Varaha, Kathaka, Vaikhanasa, Bharadvaja, Hiranyakesin, Gobhila,
Jaimini and other schools give detailed descriptions of this famous
rite.
In the third or fourth month, or later, the Simantonnayana or
the rite of parting the hair is performed for her- 12
In the eighth month a further rite is performed as described in
the Mdnava-grhya-sutra . 1J When she is about to be confined cere-
monies for easy delivery 11 are performed. If the child dies during
birth certain special rites are observed for the good of the mother and
the dead child. 15 As soon as the child is born a fire is lit up. 16
So far the pre-birth rites. In after-birth rites as well the
mother plays an important part. During the Jata-karman, the father
bathes the child in lukewarm water and places it on her lap with the
utterance of prayers. 17 Before the child is allowed to suckle, the
mother is washed and purified by the husband. 18
Par.GS ., 4th, 5th, or 8th; Sam.GS 7th; Vaik.GS., 8th; Jaim.GS., 4th
5th, or 8th; Man.G.S., 77, 1, 1, 6th, or 8th, Asv.G.K., (p. 271), 4th; Sams-P
of Bhaskara, (Poona, 1924) p. 53, any time beginning from the fourth till the end
of the pregnancy; Vaijavapa, as quoted in Sams.R.M., p. 820, 4th, 5th, or 6th,
Yajn.S ., 6th, or 8th; Atri.S 8th, or 9th, SahkhaS., when the foetus quivers till
the birth of the child; Brbas.S ., 4th, 6th, or 8th; (solar month); Prayoga.R. of
Narayana Bhatta (Bombay, 1915) F. 68, 1.7, 4th, 6th, or 8th; Karma.K.P.
(Bombay, 1921) F. 67a, 1.4, 6th, or 8th. According to several authorities, this
rite need not be performed on each occasion of her pregnancy; c.g. Sams.P.
(Poona 1924) p. 53, 1, 6-7. Paraskara and his commentators think it should be.
For this difference in opinion, cp. Sam. May., p. 21.
12 cp. Aditya’s note on Laugaksi’s text Karayate, Kath.G.S pp. 129L
13 Baroda ed., 1926, 1, 16, p. 79; Astavakra, 1, 6f., particularly, 1.9.
14 cp. Devapala and Adityadarsana on Kath.G.S ., p. 136, 3L
15 KausS., 34, jff.
16 Sah.G.S 1, 25, 4; Par.GS 1, 16, 23; Vaik.G.S 3, 15, 18; H/V.G. 5 ,
2, 3, 4; Ap.G.S ., 9, 3, 22; etc.
17 Vaik.GS Ill, 15; Hir.GS II, 3, 10; Baudh.GS II, 1, 9. p. 33. ,
18 Par.GS 1, 16, 19; Vaik.GS Ill, 15; Man.GS 1, 17, 7, p. 82; 1. 4-5,
Kath.GS., XXXIV, 5, p. 138 of Lahore ed., for Devapala, see 4* 23-24; Jditya -
darsana, p. 139, 11. 6f.
The Position of Mother in the Vedic Ritual 825
On the tenth day or later, 19 the mother participates with the
father in naming the child- 20 According to one school 21 before
commencement of the oblation, the mother should bathe the child,
cover it with a clean garment and hand over the child, with its
head towards the north, to the father who sits on the Kusa-grass to
her north. She then walks behind him and sits by his left side.
The father offers oblations and repeats 22 the sacred (guhya) and pub-
lic (vyavaharika) name to the mother and gives her the child back
with its head towards the north. According to other authorities,
such as Apastamba, 22 Hiranyakesin 21 and Bharadvaja, 2 '’ the mother
and father should pronounce the name together.
The mother, then, observes a series of rites for the child, such as,
the rite of placing the child on the cradle (for the first time) on the
1 2th, 1 6th or 32nd day after its birth; 28 that of making the child
wear its first garment; 27 that of having the child’s ears pierced, the
child remaining on the lap, on the 10th, 12th or 16th day,‘ h and
so forth. She observes the ceremony of making the child sit on the
ground in its 5th month, 20 another rite when the child’s teeth
appear. 10 She gives the child first solid food in the 5th month or
19 Miinu 10th or 12th; Yajn. nth; Bhav.P.: 10th, 12th, or 18th; Gryha-
pansista , as quoted in the Samskara-mayiikba, 10th night, 100th night or a year;
Khad.G.S II, 2, 31,: the same as the Grhya-parisista; same in the Gobhila;
Var.G.S ; III, p. 7: 10th night; Man.G.S I, 18, p. 83: 10th night.
20 E.g. Varaha: Pita mata ca. 21 Qrah.GS II, 3 6f.
22 Same in Gobh.G.S., 2, 8, 17. 23 Ap.G.S XV, 8.
24 Hir.G.S II, 4, 11.
25 Bhar.G.S., ed. by H. J. W. Solomons (London, 1913) I, 26, p. 27, 11 . 13-14.
26 Sams.R.M ., p. 870, 1. 24ff. some authorities think the 13th day is better
for the girl: p. 871, 1. 6 & 8. Other women also join in the performance of the
rite, 1 of. 27 Op. tit., p. 672, 1. Tff.
28 Op. cit i p. 782, 1. 26b, Sam. May., p. 26; cp. Grhya-parisista as quoted in
Sams.R.M., p. 874, 29L According to Visnu.DH as quoted in Sams.R.M., p. 875,
1. 7 -8, the child remains on the lap of the mother. The left ear of the daughter
should be first pierced and then die right; op. cit., p. 876, 1. 15.
29 Sams.R.M., p. 890, i.8f; p. 891 “Kumaraya apy evam.”
30 Var.GS p. 8, 1.1. ^
826
The Position of Mother in the Vedic Ritual
later 81 and betel in the 6th month. 32 When the child is one year
old, 38 the rite of tonsure (caula) is performed. The mother bathes the
child, clothes it and sits on the west of the fire with the child on her
lap. 34 She keeps on touching the father while he offers the
oblations. 88 According to Asvalayana, 88 each time the father cuts
the hair, he gives it together with sami leaves to the mother and she
puts it down on the bull-dung. According to Hiranyakesin 87 and
Varaha 88 she holds a lump of bull-dung and therewith receives the
cut-off hair. If the mother is in her period of pregnancy, this cere-
mony of Cudakarana cannot be performed. 30
In connection with the important ceremony of upanayana there
is no reference to the father, but the child approaches the mother
for alms during the Bhiksatana (roaming for alms). 1 " If the mother
belongs to the Brahmana caste, she should be addressed as “bhavati
bhiksam dadatu,” with the word “bhavati” at the beginning; if to
the Ksatriya caste, with the same in the middle; if to the third caste,
with it at the end. As soon as the son has begun Brahmacarya, he
comes, first of all, to the mother for blessings This shows that the
31 Man.GS., i. 20, p. 87; 5th or 6th; Vaik.GS Ill, 22; 6th month; cp.
the various authorities quoted in Sams.R.M^ pp. 891 f.
32 cp., however, the Sams.R.M., p. 876: when the child is two and a half
months old.
33 Sams.May., p. 29; Sams.R.M p. 897, one year: Par.G.S Sah.G.S
Bbar.GS Third year g Jaim.GS Drah.GS., AsvSmr. First or third : Vaik.GS .,
Manu, etc. Third-eleventh: Narada. The AV. (VI. 21, 136, 137) has spells to
make hair grow.
34 Asv.GS ., 1, 17, 2; Par.GS 2, 1, 5. 35 Par.GS., II, 1, 6.
36 GS., I, 17, 11. '37 3*4
38 GS., IV, 16, 13; p. 10, Raghuvira’s cd. (Lahore, 1932) cf. Sams.R.M., p. 902,
1. 29L Vaik.GS Ill, 13.
39 SamMay. (Bombay, 1913), p. 30; Sams.RM (Poona 1899) p. 900, i.n.
Sams.RM., of. cit., 1. 14-15: the rite may be performed if the period of pregnancy
does not exceed five months.
40 Sam. May., p. 60; Drab.GS II, 4, 29-30; VisnuS., XXVII, 25; Man.GS.,
1, 22, 20, p. 93, Baroda cd., Var.GS., V, 28, p. 16, Raghuvirds cd.; cp. Manu, II,
50; Bhar.GS „ I, 10.
The Position of Mother in the Vedic Ritual 827
mother is regarded by the child as the best well-wisher in life, parti-
cularly in connection with the Upanayana. This is quite in keeping
with the fact that the student after his samavartana or return from
the preceptor’s house, is instructed by the preceptor to respect his
mother most. 41 Apastamba says that after his return from the house
of the preceptor, the student should give whatever he may obtain to
his mother. 42 On reaching home the student should bow down first
to his mother and then to his father, as the mother is thousand times
more venerable than the father. 4 ' 1
So far as marriage is concerned, the mother helps her son and
daughter in every possible way. 44 Her choice in selecting a bride-
groom is adhered to. 45 To incur the displeasure of a mother-in-law
is considered most unfortunate by the son-in-law 48 which shows that
in matrimonial affairs too the mother exercises much influence.
During the wedding of the daughter, the mother stands in front of
the fire with some fried rice on a winnowing fan. 17 Her prayers
to the fire are essential for the well-being of the daughter.
Thus, in all the Samskaras performed at the various stages of
the children’s life, the mother seems to lead in importance. She
keeps on touching the father while he offers oblations which means
that she, too, is at the same time offering oblations. So long as she
is living, none of the above rites can be performed without her
* * ’ 48
participation. *
The principle of bowing down to the mother first on the
student’s return from the home of his preceptor is also upheld by the
honour shown to the mother in Aurdhva-dehika or after-death rites.
41 Tait. Aran., 7. n, .12. 4 2 ^S., I, 2, 15.
43 cf. Commentary on Gobh.G.S., II, 4, 11, p. 353, i- i6f., Pitros tu
prathamam mataram eva” etc.
44 cf. RV., I, 12, II, AV.,. 11 , 36, etc.
45 RV., V, 61, etc., with Brhad-devata, V,* 498.
46 RV’, X, 34, 3. 47
48 Sams.RM., p. 900, 1. 3ft SamMay., p. 30, "Caule ca
Drab.GS., I, 18.
vrata-bandhe ca,”
etc.
828 The Position of Mother in the Vedic Ritual
So far as the Sraddhas are concerned, several special ceremonies are
performed in honour of the mother. 49 The Candana-dhenu sraddha,
the costliest and most ceremonial of all sraddhas, is performed for the
mother only. The Anvastakas are also special rites performed for
her in which she receives pindas along with her mothers-in-law (the
grand-mother and great-grand-mother of the sacrificer). The offer-
ing of the pinda in this Matr-sraddha is considered so important
that Kamalakara, as quoted ih the Sraddha-manjari holds that even
if the sacrificer’ s wife be pregnant, he should offer the pinda in due
time and it should be offered even though the father of the sacrificer
be living. 00 The Manjari-kara says in plain words that this rite is a
very important one and should be performed even though several
conditions may remain unfulfilled. 51
According to Katyayana, the mother 52 should not be offered a
separate pinda except on the day of her death, as her satisfaction
arises from the pinda awarded to the father. This prohibition of a
separate offering to the mother applies to the followers of this parti-
cular school only, and even then it is designed to emphasise the
fact that parents are one and the same, and that the mother is not
excluded from the right of having pindas. The statement that the
satisfaction of mothers arises from the pindas awarded to the fathers
shows that they also share in those pindas just as the fathers do and
that the pindas ^re offered conjointly for the mothers as well.
Katyayana does not prohibit the performance of the rite for the
mother 53 which means that she is a regular mane (pitr) as the father
is. So what Katyayana means is that in the Sraddhas the parents
49 It will be seen in this connection that there is not a single rite performed
for the mother just the same.
50 Sr ad. Man., (Anandasrama ed.) p. 130: the prayoga is given here.
51 Op. cit, “Asya ^raddhasya avafyakatvat/* etc.
52 Chan.P ed. by Pahcanana Tarkaratna (Calcutta, 1903) p. 329, v. 22
[OmSarnh.]
53 Op*~cit. t V. 21.
The Position of Mother in the Vedic Ritual
829
should be considered as one and the same devata and no separate
devatatva is to be attributed to the father. Again, this condition
would apply only to the Parvana-sraddhas as the same Katyayana
remarks in another place 54 that no Vedic ritual should be begun
without worshipping the manes and even then (tatrapi) the mothers
should be worshipped first. In the Vrddhi-sraddha , 55 the rite per-
formed for the prosperity of the child, the mother must be
worshipped first of all and then the father; so also in other
sacrifices . 56 Even when the rite Abhyudayika is celebrated on three
consecutive days, the mothers are to be worshipped on the first day / 7
Any way, the very fact that the mother is entitled to Sapindikarana,
be it with the father 58 or the grand-mother , 59 at once shows that the
mother is a full-fledged mane (pitr) and has all the rights as other
manes have.
The highest dignity of the mother’s position is brought about
by the fact that even her misconduct is not considered as a bar to
the performance of the Aurdhva-daihika or after-death rites for her
— the sin being atonable by the son . 00 The father who is expelled
from the caste for his crime is to be regarded as an outcaste by the
son too, but the mother never is . 01 Whatever be her crime, the
mother is mother for the son and all the rites are performed for her.
54 Op. dt„ p. 313, V. 17.
55 Par.GS., Bombay ed. (1918) p- 509. 1 • 29; Sam May., p.*6.
56 See Jabali quoted by Gadadhara, Par.G.S., of. at., p. 512, 1. 15.
57 Sraddha-kasika of Krsna Misra, Par.G.S., (Bombay ed. 1918) p. 812, 1. i5f.;
cf. in this connection the L Jfodghdta of Bhatta Gopinatha,, (Poona. 1924) P* 62,
1. 18: Mothers are worshipped first of all,
58 Yama as quoted in Par.G.S. (Bombay, 1918) p. 499, 1. 12-13; Srad.KK., of
Govindananda, (Bib. Indica, Calcutta, 1904) p. 426. 1. 13-16; Bhav.P. as quoted in
the Catur-varga-cintamani; Laghuharita, as quoted in the Sraddha-kriya-kaumudi,
p. 426, 1. 17-21.
59 Vrddha satatapa, SmrSam. (Anandasrama ed) p. 234, 1.6; v. 41,
Par.GS., p. 499, 1. 9f.
60 Hir.GS., II, 4. to, 7; San.GS., Ill, 13, 5.
61 Vai.DhS., XIII, 47, Gaut.DhS., XX, I; XXI, 15; Ap.DhS., 1. 10. 28, 9.
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
22
830
The Position of Mother in the Vedic Ritual
That the mother is the highest Guru is also corroborated by
direct statements in the Mahabharata 62 and the Smrti . 63 Manu 64
says definitely that the mother is thousand times more honourable
than^he father.
The very fact that the symbolic mother should be worshipped
at the beginning of any and every Vedic sacrifice at once gives her
the highest position as Guru , 65
Thus it is seen that in the pre-birth Samskaras, in the after-
birth Samskaras, in the Aurdhva-daihika rites, and in every other
Vedic rite, the position of the mother is a very important one. In
fact she seems to hold a more honourable position than the father
in Vedic rituals.
Jatindra Bimal Chaudhuri
62 I. 195, 1 6; XII, 342, 18 and XIII, 105, 10.
63 Gant.DhS., II, 57; Yajnavalkya, I, 35.
64 II, 145; cp. also 225-237; IV. 160; Vasistha, XIII, 48, quotes the same opinion.
65 Par.G.S., (Bombay ed. 1918), p. 512, 1. 15.
Asv.GS.
Ap.DbS.
Ap.G.S.
Asv.G.K.
AfoSmr.
AtriS.
Baudb.G.S .
Bhar.GS.
Bbav.P.
Brahm.
Brhas.S.
Chan.P.
Drah.GS.
Gaut.Dh.S.
Gobh.GS,
GS .
Hir.GS .
Jatm.GS.
Karma.K.P
Katb.GS.
KausS.
ABBREVIATIONS USED.
Asvalayana Grbya-sutra. Khad.GS.
Apastamba-dbarma-sutra. Man.G.S.
Apastamba-grbya-sutra. Par.G.S.
Asvalayana-grhya-kar&a. Prayoga.R.
Asvalayana-smrti. RV.
Afiri-smrti. Sam. May.
Baudhayana-grhya-siitra. Sams.P.
Bharadvaia-grbya-sHtra . Sams.R.M.
Bhavisyat-purana. Sankba. S.
Brahmanabala. SK.
Brhaspati-smrti. Smr.Sam.
Chandoga-parisista. Srad.KK .
Drahyayana-grbya-siitra. Sr ad. Man.
Gautama-dbarma-sfi tra. T ait. Aran .
Gobbila-grhya-sutra. O naSam h .
Grhya-sutra. Vaik.G.S.
Hiranyak esi-grbya-su tra . V ar.G.S.,
Jatmimya- grhya-sutra. Vas.Dh.S.
Karma-kanda-pradipa. Vtsnu.Dh.
Kath aka- grhya-sutra. Visnu. S.
Kausika- sutra. Yajn.S.
K hadir a- grhya-sutra.
Manava-grbya-su tra.
Paras kar a- grhya-sutra.
Prayoga-ratna.
Rg-veda.
Samskara-mayukha.
Samskara-paddbati.
Samskara-ratna-mala.
Sankba-smrti.
Saunaka-karika,
Smrtinam-sa muccayah .
Sraddha-kriya-kaumudi.
Sradd ha-man jari.
Taittiriya-aranyaka.
Una-vimsati-samhita.
Vaikhanasar grhya-sutra
Varah a- grhya-sutra.
Vasistba-dharma-sutra.
Visnu-dharmottara.
Visnu-smrtl
Y ajnavat k ya-smrti.
The Significance of the Vedic Rite Pumsavana
The Pumsavana is an important Vedic rite, generally believed
to be performed in order to have male children only . 1 But there
is evidence to show that the pumsavana is a rite performed with the
object of averting any evil to the progeny and of having either a male
or a female child as desired. Accordingly to the majority of ritual
authorities 2 this rite is to be performed on each occasion of the wife’s
pregnancy so that whenever the wife and the husband wish to have
a daughter, they may use what is technically known as Oha i.e. an
alteration in the gender or other things as necessary in the sacred
formulas, etc., just as they have the option to choose — if they want
sons — whether they would have an heroic son or otherwise . 3 4 Both
the Simantonnayana (the rite of parting the hair) and the
Pumsavana are really Garbha-samskaras, performed for removing the
sin that might bring any evil to the embryo . 1 The word ‘Pums ’ 5
in the name of ‘Pumsavana’ refers to both male and female and does
not at all debar the use of ‘Oha’ whenever necessary.
That the word ‘Pums’ in the compound ‘Pumsavana’ does
not stand for the male child alone is corroborated by the fact that
nowhere in the grhya-sutras do the sutra-karas intend excluding
1 Cf. Monier- Williams, A Sanskrit — English Dictionary * Oxford, Clarendon
Press, 1899, p. 630, Column 3.
2 Cf. Paraskara-grbya-sittra f (henceforth abbreviated as Par. G.S.) Bombay ed.,
1918, p. 145 f., all commentators stick to the same principle; Samskara-faddhati,
Poona, 1924, p. 51, line 3; Bandhayana-grbya-stitra, (henceforth abbreviated as
Baudh. G.S.) Madras University ed., p. 29.
3 Par. G.S . , of. cit.y p. 144, lines 7-8; for the 0 ha used in this connection, see
Samskara-ratna-mala , (henceforth abbreviated as Sam. R.M.) Poona, 1899, p. 813,
11. 24-25.
4 Cf. Par . GS., of. cit., p. 144, 11 . 9, 16, 29, etc., Samskara-faddhati , of. cit>,
p. 51, 1 . 20; Sam. RM. } p. 813, 11 . 2if.
5 Caland’s ed., Lahore, 1925, p. 13 1, Ch. 24, sutra 1.
834 The Significance of the Vedic Rite Pumsavana
ceremony. 14 Longing for a daughter the bride-groom shows the bride
after she has reached her new home the Dhruva and other constella-
tions. 19 The parents deem it a favour of god if they can have sons as
well as daughters by their side during the performance of sacrifices. 16
The Rg-veda praises the father of many daughters. 17 The daughter
claims her support from parents not for nothing, but for her devo-
tion to them. 18 They care for her as much as they do for their
son; or it may be said — even more, as the father is found to worship
the daughter (kumari) as an emblem of Virginity, as an emblem of
Purity, of Tenderness, Devotion, and what not. 19 Just as the
Matrka-puja is to take place at the beginnings of all Vedic rituals,
the Kumari-puja is recommended to be performed at the end of all;
and this latter worship, the Daughter-Worship is impossible in
the absence of a daughter as she is to be bodily present. The
father wraps her up with new garments, entertains her with deli-
cious dishes and walks round her. From her first year onwards,
she is worshipped as different deities; if she is one year old, as
Sandhya; if two, Sarasvati; and so on. Thus as she grows, the
parents find in her different manifestations of the Supreme
Soul, — blessing them in every possible way. The daughter is in-
deed the embodiment of all blessings for the parents and the
family.
In Sanskrit literature the word Pums is not restricted in use
to mean males alone but is also found used in the sense of human
beings in general. Thus, when Varahamihira 20 says the earth has
14 A'sv. G.S. f Bombay ed., 1909, 1,7,4, P* 2 3 > n-* 2 ; Apastamba-grhya -
sutra , (henceforth abbreviated as Ap. GS. ), Madras, 1893, IV, 12.
15 Devapala on Kdthaka-grhya-sHtra 9 (abbreviated as Kath, G.S .), op. cit. 3 XXV,
45, p. 1 14, 11. 1-2.
16 Rg-veda, VIII, 31, 8. * 17 VI, 75, 5. 18 Rg-veda f 11. 17, 7.
19 Tri-vediya-kriya-kanda^paddhati, Calcutta, 1887, p. 160. M Kumari-
pujanam aham karisya iti samkalpya kumartm dniya pujayet.”
20 Vizianagram Sanskrit Series ed., part II, 53, 1, also 85, 5. See also
Bhdgavata-purdna, 8, 24, 48 for a similar use.
The Significance of the Vedic Rite Pumsavana 835
veins just as the bodies of Turns’ have, the word Pums conveys
necessarily the sense of human beings, as women too have veins
in their bodies. Hemacandra in his Abhidhdna-cintdmani 21 gives
“martya: one who is mortal,” “bhu-sprs” : one who touches (is
born on) the earth,” etc. as the synonyms of Pums. All these
necessarily include the sense of women as well. In. commenting
upon a couplet quoted in the Bhamatt which includes the word
Pum in the genitive plural, Bhatta Gopinatha in his treatise
Upodghata 22 says the word Pums means males as well as females.
The Asvaldyana-srautasiitra 23 too uses Pums in the same sense.
Thus the usual method of the sutra-karas of including feminine
in the masculine gender, the procedure of the rite itself, the import-
ance of a daughter emphatically borne out by the whole range of
Sanskrit literature, instances where the word Pums is found used
in the sense of both males and females — all lead to the conclusion
that the purpose of the Pumsavana is to avert any evil to the pro-
geny and to have any child — male or female as the parents
desire.
Jatindra Bimal Chaudhuri
21 Bohtlingk’s ed„ St. Petersburg, 1847.
22 “Pravrttir va nivrttir va nityena krtakena va
Pumsam yen opadisyeta tac-cbastram abhidlriyate.
An an dasrama Sanskrit Series, vol. 94, Poona 1924, p. 18. For grammatical support
of our interpretation: Panini, 1-2-66-67, Bala-manorama, Trichinopoly, (1910-22),
p. 608, 11 . 3 f., SiJdbanta-kaumudi, 932-33.
23 Bib. Indica ed., 1874, p. 203, suttas 3, 2, iaff.
Three Ancient Indian Official Titles Explained
Among the titles of administrative officers occurring in the land
grants of the Pala kings and their eastern contemporaries, we find
three very rare terms, Khandapala (and its equivalent Khandaraksa ),
Khola and Mahakatuka. They are found conjoined only in one
inscription, namely the Ramganj plate of the Mahamandalika
Isvaraghosa (ed. N. G. Majumdar, Inscriptions of Bengal, III, pp.
149 ff.). The term Khandaraksa occurs by itself in three eastern ins-
criptions-'-of this period, namely, Nalanda Grant of Devapala (ed.
Hirananda Sastri, El. XVII), Monghyr Grant of Devapala (ed. L.
D. Barnett, Ibid., XVIII), Bhagalpur Grant of Narayanapala (ed. E.
Hultzsch, l A., XV), while Khandapala occurs similarly in the Pan-
chobh Grant of Paramabhattaraka Maharajadhiraja Paramesvara
Mahamandalika Sangramagupta (ed. J. N. Sikdar and Amareswar
Thakur, JBORS., V, pp. 582 ff.). Of the mention of the two other
terms in these eastern grants, we have only one instance apiece. Khola
occurs in the Khalimpur Grant of Dharmapala (ed. F. Kielhorn, EL,
IV) and Mahakatuka occurs in the Panchobh Grant above-mention-
ed. Evidently because of the extreme obscurity of these terms, their
connotation has been left unexplained by the editors of the above
i The Antirigam Plate of Jayabhanjadeva (. £./. , XIX, pp. 41 ff.) has in the
concluding phrare of its list of administrative officers Khandapala-Puranjayasarah
on which Dr. Hirananda Sastri (Ibid., p. 44 n) writes, “Read °suran, the adjective
kirtitan being the plural; the mention of only two heroes Khandapala and Pmanjaya
must be taken to include other heroes.” But apart from the grammatical difficulty
hinted at by Dr. Sastri, the form of the immediately preceding phrase
etc ” would
seem to require a reading like * P* ace
g WW f ft ^ so * we have here a fourth instance of die tide ^ rgr figi in an
Eastern grant.
Three Ancient Indian Official Titles Explained 837
grants. No more success has attended the efforts of some recent
scholars who have undertaken a systematic survey of Pala and Sena
administration (cf. Dr. R. G. Basak, in the Bengali Pravasi, Asvin,
1343 and Mr. Promode Lai Paul in Dacca University Studies,
vol. II, No. 1), fd¥ they have either left the terms without any ex-
planation or else offered suggestions which lack any confirmation.
The clue to the proper identification of these terms has to be
sought, as in many other instances of the same kind, in the Jaina
canonical and post-canonical literature. To begin with Khola, it is
included in a list of Desi words in Hemacandra’s Desinamamala,
(No. 2, 80). But none of his synonyms Laghugardabha and
Vastraikadesa suits our present context. On the other hand a wel-
come light is offered by the Jaina lexicons. The great Jaina lexicon
Abbidhana-Rajendra gives among the synonyms of Khola “ Raja -
purusa”, while the handy Ardha-Magadhi Dictionary of Muni
Sri Ratnacandraji more specially mentions the sense of gupta-
cara or spy. Either of these senses would admirably suit our present
requirement, for in the list of officers in the two inscriptions con-
cerned Khola is immediately preceded and followed by a number of
minor administrative titles: —
(+i'ti-3if*Tfrc?rnir (Khalimpur Grant)
1 * 1 Ri.1* (Ramganj Grant).
The term Katuka is derived from Sanskrit Katu under the rule
svarthe-kan. But this etymology does not help to throw light upon
its technical significance. It occurs twice in Bana’s Harsacarita
(Bombay edition, 1892, pp. 228-30), meaning according to the
commentator Sankara, Hastipakayoktra (or elephant-rider) in one
case, and in the other where it is used as a double entendre having
the senses of Ttksna and Pratihara (cf. F. W. Thomas, ‘Two lists of
words from Bana’s Harsacarita ’ IRAS., 1899, P- 5 10 )- Leaving
aside the first two senses which are quite inapplicable in the case of
our inscriptions, it may be doubted whether the technical adminis-
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
a 3
"838 „ Three Ancient Indian Official Titles Explained
trarive significance of the term has been correctly found out by the
commentator. The second passage from the Harsacarita reads:
which Cowell and Thomas follow-
ing the commentator translate as ‘like a phlegmatic patient
he is daily worried by acrid doorkeepers’ ( Harstkarita , tr. p. 221).
From all that we know of the chamberlain’s duties it is ex-
tremely doubtful whether he may be taken as the type of
a vexatious official, such as was evidently the author’s inten-
tion. Here again the clue is found in the valuable Jaina literature.
The Abhidhana-Rajendra, quoting from the Curni of Nisithasiitra,
gives for Kaduga (evidently the Prakrit form of Sanskrit Katuka ) a
synonym Dandaparicchedakarin which may be translated as ‘one
who measures (proportionately deals out?) punishment’. This may
mean an officer entrusted with the administration of criminal justice,
or more probably one charged with punishment of criminals. It is
evident that an officer of this type has so many opportunities for
misuse of his powers as to make his name a by-word for oppression
in the olden times. This has apparently been done by Bana in the
passage above-mentioned. With this explanation in mind we may
offer a plausible interpretation of the term Mahakatuka of the land-
grants. The Ramgahj inscription has been assigned on palaeogra-
phical grounds to the eleventh century (N. G. Majumdar. loc cit.,
p. 149) and the Panchobh Grant to the latter part of the 12th century
(R. D. Banerji, JBORS V, p. 586). It may be suggested that in
Eastern India by the nth and 12th centuries the order of Katukas
had been organised with a chief at its head, or more probably the
Katuka himself had been raised with a higher designation to the
status of other first class officers. It is at any rate significant that
both in the Ramganj and the Panchobh grants Mahakatuka occurs
in juxtaposition with a number of more or less well-known high
dignitaries with the same prefix added to their names : —
JTfrsRftTR, JTsmtgTww, yg i yre ft ro ,
Three Ancient Indian Official Titles Explained 839
*T?m>T7fo, »ifra^iifa$cr, uit-
^rftr, J!?resra**r, q%
Tifr^-s (Ramganj Grant).
*T5WT«r^, *TfTwf%$, ^CTWrfwftra, rrfR^iw^...
* 5 flflftrarerfH *TCT^*rc^ (Panchobh Grant).
We now turn to the term Khandapala and its equivalent
Khandaraksa. This term has been tentatively translated as ‘Super-
intendent of repairs’ (N. G. Majumdar, op. cit., App. X, p. 184;
to the same effect R. G. Basak, loc. cit., who compares his functions
with those of a P. W. D. engineer) and as ‘Superintendent of
municipal wards’ (J. N. Sikdar and Amareswar Thakur, op. cit.,
593). These explanations evidently rest upon the supposed etymo-
logical significance of the base -khanda, for which however we are
furnished with no independent authority. Here again the valuable
Jaina literary evidence comes to our rescue. The Ardha-Magadhi
Dictionary has under the caption khandarakkha the Hindi synonyms
dani (‘Customs-Inspector’) and Kotval (‘Head of Police’). With this
is identical the explanation in the great Jaina lexicon which gives
for the same term the synonyms dandapasika and snlkapala. The
latter explanation is also given by Leumann in his edition of the
Aupapatikasutra (Das Aupapdtikasiitra, erstes upanga der Jaina, I
Teil, glossar). Though these authoritative explanations may be ac-
cepted as correct, it is difficult to understand their connection with
the root-word khanda, for which the Desinamamala (II, 78) gives
the synonyms munda and madyabhanda, none of which is appli-
cable here. What is still more to the point, a different sense is
required for khandapala-khandaraksa in the inscriptions under
notice, for there we have dandika, dandapasika and saulkika men-
tioned alongside khandaraksa and khandapala (cf, also Chamba
Inscriptions, No. 15 and 26 in Vogel, Antiquities of the Chamba
State, pp. 166 and 199). Let us try to find out whether any clue is
840 Three Ancient Indian Official Titles Explained
afforded by the juxtaposition of the title in the inscriptions concern-
ed. This is as follows :
(Monghyr, Bhagalpur, and Nalanda Grants). In the above,
the titles evidently have been arranged in a number of closely-related
groups. Cauroddharanika , dandika and dandapasika belong to the
class of police officers, saulkika and gaulmika to that of customs
officers, prantapala and kottapala along with hastyasvostranaubalavya-
prtaka to the group of military officers, kisoravadavagomahisajavika-
dhyaksa to the class of officers in charge of State herds. What then
is the significance of Khandaraksa ? We suggest that it should be
taken to belong to the group prantapala (‘Warden of the Marches’)
and kottapala (‘Officer in charge of the fortress or fortified city’).
This is supported by the context of the term khandapala in the
Ramganj grant:
etc.
Here the immediately preceding term dandapala evidently stands
for dandanayaka, which according to the standard lexicons (Abhi-
dhanacintamani , II, 9; Kalpadrukosa , 16, 17) means sena.ni or com-
mander. We may mention in this connection the significant fact
that in the other land-grants of the Palas the term ahgaraksa (evi-
dently a military title) occurs in place of khandaraksa of the
Monghyr, Bhagalpur and Nalanda grants : STFcPTra- #FTM-
etc. (Bangarh grant of Mahipala I and Manahali
grant of Madanapala). It follows from the above that khandaraksa -
khandapala is a military office of nearly the same status as the
prantapala and kottapala.
U. N. Ghoshal
King Harsadeva of the Nepal Inscription
The Pasupatinatha temple inscription in Nepal 1 tells us of
one King Harsadeva “of the royal line of Bhagadatta” and “the
lord of Gauda, Odra, Kalinga and Kosala.” This is the singular
mention of a king not supported by any other evidence. Prof.
Keilhorn supposed him to be the same as Sri Harisa of the Tejpur
grant . 2 The name (Harsavarma) has also been found in the
Haiungthul grant of Harjarvarma . 3 This identification has been
accepted by all and Bengal, they say, had been at least’ temporarily
occupied by the Kamarupa prince. But let us see how far this
opinion can be supported.
Harsavarma, the lord of Pragjyotisa was the sixth in
descent from Salastambha. These kings were known as
“Mlecchas” and not as “Bhaumas.” The word “tasydnaye” in
the Tejpur - copper-plate 1 and the line astam gatesu Rdjasu
Sdlastambho-bbavannrpatih in the Nowgaon grant of Balavarma 0
show that they came to power after the royal line of Bhagadatta.
This is also supported by the Bargaon copper-plate of Ratnapaladeva 0
mlecchddbindtho vidhi-calana-vasad-eva jagrdba rdjyam. In the
next verse we find the people thinking punarabo bhaumohi no
yujyate svdmiti. All these tend to show that Devi Rajyamati of
the Nepal inscription was not the daughter of this Sri Harisa.
Sri Harisa was “Pragjyotisesa” but Harsadeva was “Gaudodradi-
Kalitiga-Kosalapati” and there is no mention of Kamarupa. It has
been suggested that the words Bhagadatta raj kulajd were enough
i Indian Antiquary, IX, p. 178. 2 JRAS., 1898, pp. 384-5.
3 Kamariifa Sasanavati. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid.
7 Verse 19 of the Tejpur grant, of course, calls Vanamala, the bright moon
in the sky of the kings of the Naraka dynasty. But the inscription was read
by a pandit having no good knowledge of paleography and some mistakes might
have crept in. The original is missing and we cannot accept the reading as a
decisive piece of evidence.
842 King Harsadeva of the Nepal Inscription
to mean that. 8 It was possible if the lineage was claimed by the
Kamarupa princes alone. But we find a contemporary line of kings
in Orissa — the ‘Karas’ — claiming the same descent. 9 “Now in 795
A.D., that is the eleventh year of the period Cheng-Ymn, the
Chinese emperor T e-tsong received as a token of homage an
autograph manuscript addressed to him by the king of the realm
of Wuch’a (Orissa)” whose name has been interpreted as
“Subhakaradeva. ” 10 The Pasupatinatha temple inscription is dated
748 A.D. or 759 A.D. as Prof. Levi suggested. So the two events
are fairly contemporay to be ignored by a prince of Nepal. The
omission of the name of Kamarupa has its significance. Harisadeva
was of the royal line of Bhagadatta but could not perhaps claim the
sovereignty of Pragjyotisa.
Nepal in those days was a kingdom of no mean repute. A
matrimonial connection with that royal family was an apt subject
of eulogy. But not one of the three Salastambha inscriptions, not
to speak of others, makes any reference to that. It might be that
Harsadeva was defeated and compelled like Yasahkarna to give her
daughter in marriage. But the glorious and honourable reference to
his name in the inscription negatives all such suggestions. The
silence is really strange.
If the current view be accepted, then Harsa’s empire extended
from Pragjyotisa to Kaliriga. His reign, then, formed the most
glorious chapter 0/ the history of Assam. But queerly enough, none
but Harjar and Vanamala mentions him. They also do not credit him
with a vast empire. He was only “gunavan dharmiko nrpah.” 11
8 Kamarupa Rajavalt.
9 “Bhaumanvayad” — Neulpur Inscription (Ep. lnd., XIV, pp. 1-6).
“Bhaumyasya” — Chaurasi Inscription ( JBORS XIV, p. 293). °Bhaumanvaya’ —
Hindol Inscription (R. D. Banerjee — History of Orissa . I.) They were, however,
Buddhists and had bull marked seals.
10 Ep., lnd., XV, pp. 364-5.
n Haiungthul Inscription ( Kamarupa Sasanavali).-
8 43
King Harsadeva of the Nepal Inscription
The history of Bengal in- the eighth century A.D. still remains
shrouded in mystery. But much light has been thrown by some
contemporary works. In the epic poem Gaudavaho, Vakpati wrote
of the defeat of “Magahanatha” by Yasovarma (c. 734*47 A.D.)
of Kanauj and his subsequent invasion of Vanga. When the
Karkataka prince Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir (c. 713-55
A.D.) defeated Yasovarma and attacked Kalinga, numerous
elephants from Gauda joined his army. 12 These two statements
show that Gauda was either a feudatory or a federated state of
Magadha while Vanga and Kalinga maintained their independence.
It seems impossible that any prince could have established a vast
empire extending from Kalinga to Assam in the life-time of the
victorious invader and so shortly after his conquest. The
Manjusri-mulakalpa 18 a contemporary work also observes a strange
silence.
An unbiassed consideration tends to support a different sugges-
tion. On the death of Bhaskaravarma his vast empire fell to pieces.
Vanga and Gauda asserted their independence and his descendants
were deprived of their ancestral throne by the mleccha kings.
They perhaps continued to reign as vassals or petty chiefs. Taking
the advantage of the trouble some day one of them gained strength
and held temporary sway over Gauda etc. Through the various
changes of fortune they maintained their independence in the hilly
tracts of Orissa and the ‘Kara’ kings were but their descendants. 14
Harsadeva then came after Lalitaditya and the Nepal inscription
was dated 759 A.D.
Bisweswar Chakravarti
12 Kalhana’s Rajatarangihi ed. Stein.
13 Imperial History of India by K. P. Jayaswal.
14 Rai Bahadur R. P. Chanda supposes them to be relatives and followers* of
Harsa. — Pravasi, XXXII, part I, p. 62.
Historical facts from three unnoticed verses of Prthvirajavijaya
The Prthvirajavijaya is useful for the reconstruction of the his-
tory of the Cahamanas of Sakambhari. Mr. H. B. Sarda did a great
= service to the cause of research work by giving a summary of the
historical contents of the book in the IRAS., 1913, pp. 259-81.
The writers of the history of the Cahamanas of Sakambhari
however have not yet noticed an important verse of the Prthviraja-
vijaya which contains historical information about the reign of
Durlabharaja I. The verse is:
srRr: srratfcsmt 1
TM wp ^ 11 v - 2 °. 5 th sar g a -
The word “Gaudarasasvada” can be interpreted in two ways:
(1) Gauda + rasa + asvada.
(2) Gauda + rasa + asvada.
The first means the taste of the Gauda-rasa i.e. the juice of
Gauda. The second one means the taste of Gauda-rasa i.e. the
Gauda-land. Taking into consideration both the interpretations the
verse would mean this:
The sword of whom, after a dip in the Gangasagara (i.e. the
sacred confluence of the Ganges and the Bay of Bengal) purifies itself
by the taste of tly. land (Rasa) or the juice (Rasa) of Gauda and thus
attained prominence.
The association of the sword with the land of Gauda goes to
assert the military achievement of Durlabharaja I in Gauda. Let us
see what it refers to. The Radhanpur grant of the Rastrakuta
Govinda III (808 A.D.) records that Dhora (Dhruva) defeated
Vatsaraja “who boasted of having with ease appropriated the fortune
of Gauda” and “took away from him, not merely the two Gauda
^umbrellas of state but also his fame.” We know that the Caha-
manas, were subordinate to the Pratiharas and Guvaka I, the sueces-
Historical facts from three Unnoticed verses of Prthvirdjavijaya 845
sor of Durlabharaja I, has been called a hero who famed in
the assembly of Nagavaloka (£./., vol. ii, p. 12 1, verse 31, n. 26)
i.e. Pratihara Nagabhata II.
So we can assert that the above verse of the Prthvirajavijaya
refers to Durlabharaja s assistance to his overlord Vatsaraja in his
aforesaid operations in Gauda.
Two more verses of the Prthvirajavijaya have not also received
the attention of scholars. These are : —
cr^r *nt- 11
srr^si'TH : sp5^‘^rf% Jjsrfr 11 vv - 5 2 -53- 5 th saf g a -
The meaning of the above passage is as follows :
The cavalry of Vigraharaja, a king of Solar race, eclipsed the
glory of the king of Lunar race that shone on the bank of the Reva.
He then built a temple at Bhrgukaccha which was dedicated to the
Goddess Asapurna.
Let us see whom Vigraharaja II defeated. From the Surat
grant, line 13, page 201, IA. XII we know that one Barappa
obtained Lata-desa. According to the account of Prabandhacinta-
mani this Barappa and ‘the ruler of Sakambhari’ simultaneously
attacked Mulraja I. The abovementioned ‘ruler of Sakambhari’
being none other than Vigraharaja II, (v. 51, 5^ sarga, Prthvi-
rajavijaydj we can safely assert that he must have attacked and
defeated Barappa of Lata first and made a combined effort against
Mulraja next. We have no evidence however to show that Barappa
belonged to the Lunar race.
Sarit Sekhar Majumdar
DECEMBER, 1938
H
Hayagriva
The Tantra-sara of Sri Madhvacarya gives the following
Dhyana-sloka of Hayagriva : —
sfiwraPRr
The god is described here with 4 hands, holding the conch,
the rosary, the book and the jnanamudra, (thumb and middle finger
touching each other.)
The mantra is mentioned as follows : —
sm jr: 1 erg e^nfcrnr w 1
1 STTf: 11
The phala or reward of the mantra is given in verse 54 as
follows : —
gtfegraetercj: snw?: 1
Verse 56 runs as follows : —
d# g^Kfa Pnrd<gfjn?d 1
fesrr sr$tod ^diS'dfl^rgis^: 11
*Tdd qftfa^RTdg II*.*. II
Saint Vadiraja, a disciple of Saint Vyasaraja, a contemporary of
Krsna Devaray 3 of Vijayanagara, was a great upasaka of
Hayagriva. He composed a number of lyrics, under the nom-de-
■plume, Hayavadana. 1
S. Hanumantha Rao
i Indian Historical Quarterly , July, 1928, The copper image of Pancamukhi.
December, 1933. The Das as of the Karnataka country. Journal of Indian History ,
April, 1936. Hindu Religious Movements in Mediaeval Dekkan. Journal of the
Mythic Society , Bangalore, 1930. The religious school of Sri Madhva. Journal of
the Madras University , 1928, 1929. Life and time of Sri Madhva.
REVIEWS
DHARMA-KOSA, edited by Lakshmana Shastri Joshi, with
the co-operation of a Board of sub-editors. Vol. I. Vyavahara-kanda;
pt. i, Vyavahara-matrka. Published by the Prajna-pathasala
Mandala, Wai, Dt. Satara, 1937.
This volume of more than 700 quarto pages is only the first ins-
talment of an ambitious project, to be completed in several volumes,
of compiling a critical and encyclopaedic digest of the entire Niti and
Dharma-sastra literature in their historical sequence from the Vedic
to compartively modern (18th century) times. The guiding spirit
and the real worker is the chief editor himself, who had been inspired
and initiated into the work by his Guru, Narayan Shastri Marathe,
and on whom the entire laborious task devolved on his Guru’s retire-
ment from the world; but it is a work which it is difficult for one
man to envisage, handicapped that he is by distance, want of funds
and other serious obstacles. That so much could be accomplished,
in spite of all these, is itself a marvel and a tribute to the high earnest-
ness of purpose and unflagging zeal which lie behind the work; and
the first volume augurs well for the volumes to follow. The plan,
however, is daringly comprehensive. In the words of the editor,
it will include a complete collection of all original t^jcts, classified and
arranged under proper headings, bearing upon the study of the
family rites and religious usages of the expiatory rites, of the sacri-
fices, of the festivities and modes of worship, of the fasts and the
pilgrimages, of the religious faiths and of the gods, of metaphysical
speculations and the philosophies, of the rules governing the indivi-
dual conduct towards the family, the caste or society, of ethics, law
and politics, and of all social institutions of the Hindus.” How far
all this will be accomplished remains to be seen; tut for this purpose,
not only the recognised Niti and Dharma texts are elaborately cited,
Reviews
848
but, for historical perspective, the entire Vedic literature and its
supplementary Sutras, the Puranas, the Epics, the Tantras and the
Agamas, as well as the large number of commentaries, manuals and
digests, which have been in existence from the 7th to the 18th
century, are also laid under contribution for relevant extracts under
each topic in their chronological order. The printed editions are
utilised, but manuscripts have been consulted throughout to avoid
doubtful or incorrect readings, which when they occur, have been
corrected or emended. The editor has thus suggested numerous
emendations to the printed texts of the Medhatithi-bhasya and
Asahaya-bhasya, as well as to the Vyavahara-matrka and other works
in the present volume. For unpublished texts manuscripts have
been utilised, and no pains are spared to make the citations as com-
plete as possible. Full references have been given throughout, in
accordance with modern methods, and the value of the work has
been enhanced by several Indexes, viz., an Index of important techni-
cal terms (72 pages) occurring in the quotations, an Index of sub-
ject and authors, and an Index of half-padas of cited verses.
The number of works utilised and digested is over one hundred.
The present volume deals with a part of the subject of Vyava-
hara, viz., administration of justice and legal procedure, the second
part of this volume having been reserved for another aspect of
Vyavahara, viz. )( fthe eighteen titles of law. The subject comprises
such topics as the Court, the Plaint and Written Statement, Evi-
dence, Witness, Burden of Proof and Punishment. All conceivable
points under these topics are classified, and original texts are arrang-
ed under each head in their proper order. An important feature of
these citations is that they rescue from oblivion hundreds of quota-
tions, occurring in the commentaries, manuals and digests, from
more than twenty lost works on Dharma and Artha.
It is clear that such a comprehensive and critical digest demands
in its compilation not only great labour, accuracy, and attention ro
Reviews
849
details, but also many-sided scholarship, judgment and skill in the
technique of arrangement and citation. So far as the present volume
goes, the editors have proved their capacity, which may be trusted,
if circumstances are favourable, for bringing the work to a success-
ful completion. When completed, it will undoubtedly be a standard
work of reference for the study of many problems connected with
Hindu Law, Politics, Ethics, Sociology and Religious Usages and
Practices; and let us hope, it will stand in its imposing array of
volumes as a monument of Indian scholarship.
S. K. De
ISTA-SIDDHI (Karika and Vrtti) of Vimuktatman, with ex-
tracts from the Vivarana of Jnanottama, critically edited with
introduction and notes by M. Hiriyanna. Gaekwad’s Oriental
Series, LXV. Baroda 1933.
This is one of the four well known Vedantic works, which,
under the title of Siddhi, give a complete exposition of the peculiar
doctrines of the school, the other three being the Brahma-siddhi
of Mandana Misra, the Naiskarmya-siddhi of Suresvara and the
Advaita-siddhi of Madhusudana Sarasvati. As such, the importance
and interest of the work are undoubted; the more so, because
Ramanuja makes use of the work, and Anandabodha, another early
Vedantic writer, appears to acknowledge the author as his Guru.
His relations to these famous exponents of the Vedanta system
would place our author earlier that the 1 ith century A.D. ; and
the editor would tentatively fix the limits of his date, from
external and internal evidence, between 850 and 1050 A.D. This
Prakarana or manual of eight chapters is naturally polemical in an
age when the various schools were fighting to establish their res-
pective position, and the author could not, therefore, avoid scholas-
tic dialectics; but his standpoint is essentially rationalistic. As the
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850
chief importance of the work lies in its complete exposition of the
pivotal doctrine of Maya, it concerns itself mostly with logic and
Vedantic epistemology in its critical examination of the theories
of truth and error. The editor, whose name itself is a guarantee
of the thoroughness and accuracy of this critical edition, has given,
in his short but interesting and informative introduction, a lucid
summary of Vimuktatman’s position in relation to other schools
and writers, and has spared no pains to make it worthy of his
high reputation as a scholar. The edition is certainly a valuable
contribution to the historical and critical study of the Indian philo-
sophical systems, and an important addition to the reputation of the
well known Series to which it belongs.
S. K. De
LES GRAMMAIRIENS PRAKRITS par Luigia Nitti-Dolci,
Adnen-Maisonneuve, Paris, 1938, pp. 1x4-229, Royal 8 vo.
LE PRAKRTANUSASANA DE PURUSOTTAMA par
Luigia Nitti-Dolci, Paris, 1938, pp. xxvii-f 143, Demy 8vo.
All students of Prakrit linguistics will be thankful to Mile.
Luigia Nitti-Dolci for bringing out the two volumes under
review. In the first of these she has discussed critically the contents
of the most important grammars of Prakrit and brought together
points from whic^ the question of their relative priority and mutual
dependence may be decided. Her discussion occasionally gives
us light to examine afresh the problem of the authenticity of the
Prakrit grammars, on which opinions of scholars are so divided (see
Pischel’s Pkt. Grammar § 42). In course of this discussion she
points out errors of her predecessors like Lassen and Pischel and
corrects them and draws our attention to some interesting and
important aspects of Prakrit linguistics. To scholars interested
in the subject this volume is full of valuable materials dis-
cussed with care and a critical spirit. As it is not possible to give
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85 1
an adequate idea of them all, within the short compass of this review,
we shall mention here some which may be considered additions to
our knowledge of the Prakrit grammars.
The first notable contribution of Mile. Nitti-Dolci consists
in separating the original work of Vararuci from the chapters added
later on. She has given what may be considered convincing
reasons to show that the last three chapters of the Prakrtaprakasa were
from the hands of a later author (see pp. 18 ff.). Besides this while
discussing this question she has brought together materials from the
three principal commentators of the Prakrtaprakasa, which will be
helpful for reconstructing the first eight chapters of this work written
by Vararuci. This reconstructed text may bring about some changes
in the current view about the so called Maharastri Pkt.
Another important contribution of Mile. Nitti-Dolci is in her
exploration of works on the language of which Vararuci might have
based his grammar. She has collected sufficient data to show
that the grammarian in all likelihood had before him some recension
of Hala’s Saptasatakam (see pp. 42 ff.).
Her critical edition (with translation) of the passages of the
Natyasastra dealing with Prakrit may also be considered very useful.
In all such matters Mile. Nitti-Dolci has given proof not only of
great patience and industry but also of critical acumen coupled with
boldness. It may be hoped that her work will advance the cause
of Prakritic studies. But saying all this does not certainly mean
that we agree with her in all matters. Following are some of the
cases in which we differ from Mile. Nitti-Dolci :
1. In her work she has often used the term Maharastri
Pkt. and understood by it the language of Maharasora
(after Dandin, see p. 2). The reviewer has questioned
the correctness of such practice (see Maharastri, a later
phase of Sauraseni, Journal of the Dept, of Letters,
(Calcutta University, vol. XXIII, 1933).
852
Reviews
2. Her interpretation of the first 13 sutras of Ch. V of
Vararuci cannot be accepted (see pp. 28 ff.). Canons
of interpretation applicable to sutra works of grammar
support the view of Bhamaha in this matter. We
have no reason to ignore these canons.
3. She concludes without adequate reason that “Les drames
de l’epoque classique ne nous donnent pas, ne peuvent
pas nous donner 1’ image de ce que devait etre une re-
presentation theatricale de l’lnde ancienne” (p. 80) .
4. Pkt. passages found in the Natyasastra (see p. 65) cannot
be ascribed to the author of this work. Abhinavagupta
most uncritically accepted them as its part. It would
have been better if she had left them aside as spurious.
For it is not to be easily explained why the writer
of a very big Skt. work like the N$. suddenly lapsed
into writing a few couplets in Pkt.
5. The form samagamissadi (instead of samagamissai ) occur-
ring in the Telinga recension of the Saptasataka of
Hala as well as in the Kavyaprakasa may not be con-
sidered as erroneous (see p. 114). For it is very often
found that forms like gacchadi occurring in plays of
Kalidasa, Sudraka etc. appear in late MSS. as gacchdi-
6 . Mile. Nitti-Dolci’s emendation of pbadahi ( = phalah: )
in Hala 550 (edn. Weber) into phalahi is unnecessary.
She may read in this connexion Hala IV. 60 (ed. Kavya-
mala) and., see that phadah't (cotton-field) was often the
meeting place of lovers. . The reading phaliha occur-
ring in Hala VI. 49 (ed. Kavyamala) is certainly erro-
neous, for the commentator Gangadhara clearly explains
the word as karpasa-vatika. Cf . ' Hala, IV, 60 men-
tioned above.
Reviews 853
Her discussion on Bharata needs addition. Bharata has been
quoted by Candrasekhara the commentator of the Sakuntala as
follows : —
1 aps* wjpjtT ftcjf 1
* ‘STf% fT 5SI«r f^r f|^Tct’ ^TTf vr^r: I
} — '$■ ^ spfcr faur# 1% 1
'« tr^Tf VR?f: — f f3 JTUJJ% *T^ f1% I
None of these quotations occur in any form in the available
Natyasastra. This may be added to the writer’s discussion on
Bharata (pp. 6r ff.).
All this however does not diminish the great value of the
work under review and scholars interested in Pkt. will be genuinely
glad to go through it and will consider her work as an useful
addition to the literature on the subject.
The Prakrtanusasana , a Pkt. grammar by Purusottama-deva,
the well-known author of the Skt. Grammar Bbasavrtti, passed into
oblivion till a fragment of its only ms. was discovered in Nepal
Government’s MSS. collection a few years ago, and it was the present
reviewer who for the first time brought it to the notice of the learned
world (see ‘Maharastri, a late phase of Sauraseni in the Journal of
the Deft, of Letters , Calcutta University, vol. XXIII, 1933, p. j)-
But on an examination of the ms. it was found to ^ontain no new
information of importance about Pkt. and hence it was not taken up
for publication. It should not however be thought that such
publication would have been valueless. For it gives us some histori-
cal data about the Pkt. grammarians of the Eastern school. Hence
Mile. Nitti-Dolci deserves thanks of Prakritists for bringing out
a critical edition of the work. Her very careful edition and transla-
tion of the sutras together with a comparison of them with corres-
ponding sutras in grammars of Hemacandra, Markandeya, Vararuci,
Kramadisvara and Ramasarman, has made it valuable for the histo-
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
2 5
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854
rian of indigenous Pkt. grammars. It was indeed a very difficult task,
for this sutra treatise did not contain any commentary. Still the
sutras which remain unexplained are not many and as they occur in
a published work, other scholars may try to explain them.
Mile. Nitti-Dolci has also added in the introduction to the
above work a discussion about the date of Purusottama-deva and uti-
lized in it all available data and her conclusion about his date (between
the end of the 1 ith and the beginning of the 12th century) may be
accepted as final.
In conclusion it may be said in brief that in her edition of
Purusottama’s Pkt. grammar, Mile. Nitti-Dolci has placed at the
disposal of scholars much materials which will be useful for the
critical study of Pkt. grammars. Only one fact seems to have
escaped her notice. Candrasekhara in his commentary to the
Sakuntala quotes one sutra (svarthe ko va) from one work named
the Prakrtasutra. This sutra occurs in the Prakrtanusasana (IV. 32).
Besides this another sutra ( drseh pulaa peccha niahab ) also has been
quoted from the Pkt.-sutra. This to some extent agrees with a
sutra of Purusottama (VII. 17). Sutras referred to above occur in
the commentary of Candrasekhara appended to the first edition of
Pischel’s of Sakuntala (pp. 173, 174).
Manomohan Ghosh
Reviews
8 55
PANINIYA-SIKSA or THE SIKSA-VEDANGA ascribed to
Panini, critically edited in all its five recensions with an Introduction,
Translation and Notes together with its two Commentaries by
Manomohan Ghosh of the Calcutta University. Published by the
Calcutta University 1938, Double Crown 8 vo. pp. lxvi + 90.
The Siksa ascribed to Panini the great Hindu grammarian of
the past is known as the Siksa-Vedahga. It was about eighty years
ago that Weber published its critical edition in his Indische Studien
(IV). This edition has long been out of print and accumulation of
new materials as well as later researches made it necessary that the
work should be edited afresh. Hence we welcome the present work
of Mr. Ghosh, in which he has with great patience and labour
brought together all data relating, to the study of the Paniniya-
Siksa. Weber studied the work in its two recensions Rk and
Yajus while Dr. Siddheshwar Varma discussed the work on the basis
of, these two and a third recension available in the body of the Agni
Parana ( Critical Studies in the Phonetic Observation of Indian
Grammarians, London, 1929, pp. 29 ff.) Mr. Ghosh exploited two
more recensions of the Siksa for the purpose of his critical edition.
With the help of these five recensions he has reconstructed the Siksa
as it might have been in origin. This reconstructed Siksa contains
certain features which help to place it in a period before 500 B.C.
when Panini flourished. And he has added to this reconstructed
text a critical edition of the five recensions on which his work is based,
and the old commentaries of two of these recensions. Besides this
he has given an English translation of the longest (i.e. Rk.) recension
of the Siksa which includes all the other recensions; in the
Notes he has discussed difficult passages, terms etc. and in the
Introduction he has discussed among other things the history of the
rise of the Vedangas (and Siksas and Pratisakhyas in particular) and
the date and authorship of the Paniniya-Siksa. All this has been very
carefully and critically done and it may be confidently hoped that
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856
Mr. Ghosh’s work will for a long time remain a standard work on
the subject. He as well as the Calcutta University is to be con-
gratulated on the publication of this very valuable work.
Narendra Ch. Vedantatirtha
SOME ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS IN THE IDAR
STATE, by P. A. Inamdar, M.A., B.Sc. Director of Public
Instruction and Archaeology, Idar State, Himatnagar. 1936. Re. 1.
Idar is a first class State in the Western India States’ Agency,
and is situated on the north-east of Gujarat mostly on the east of the
river Sabarmati, with an area of 1669 square miles. ‘It is bounded
on the north by the States of Sirohi and Mewar, on the east by
Mewar and Dungarpur, and on the south and west by the British
district of Ahmedabad and Baroda State territory with the State of
Danta in the north-east.’ The Idar State is also popularly known
as ‘Nani Marwar’ as since the eleventh century three successive
dynasties of its rulers have come from Marwar in Rajputana.
This small archaeological guide book shows an additional
indication of the interest our native States are in recent times taking
in the exploration and conservation of the historical and archaeological
treasures of their realms. The monograph gives a short account
of the past history of the Idar State, of its historical and archaeolo-
gical sites, and appends a fair number of photographs of old temples
and their parts, images of gods and goddesses, inscriptions, and a
map, which are all well-described and are sufficient to ‘lead to the
awakening of some interest in the public mind in the archaeological
treasures of the State and throw light on the ancient history and
culture’ of a part of western Rajputana.
On stylistic grounds some of the sculptures may easily be dated
as early as the sixth century A.D. (e-g. fig. 1) while there is quite a
fair number dateable in the seventh and eighth centuries. The
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857
majority of course belongs to a later period. Earliest temple struc-
tures are dateable in the tenth and eleventh centuries and show affi-
nities with those known from Orissa Jodhpur and other places. Later
temples are elaborately carved and decorated and seem to reveal rela-
tionship with the Western Calukya style of temple architecture.
The two inscriptions, one from the Mahadeo temple at Vadali and
another from the Ramaji (Surya) temple at Bhavnath, are respectively
dated in 1208 and 1298 A.D.
Niharranjan Ray
THE GREEKS IN BACTRIA AND INDIA. By W. W.
TARN, pp. xxiii + 539 + 1 plate and 3 maps.
The period of Greek rule in Bactria and India has remained for
very long the despair of Indian as well as European historians of
Ancient India. This has largely been due to the extra-ordinarily
imperfect and scrappy character of the material which consists
of 'fragments of lost Greek history, coins both Greek and Indian,
fragments of lost Indian histories, evidence of excavations and
Chinese histories.” The outstanding work under notice which, as
the learned author tells us in his Preface, has been his dream for
the last forty years, may be safely pronounced to be a solid and
permanent contribution to the history of the confused period that
it treats. Even a cursory reading of this book cannot fail to impress
one with the author’s amazing range of studies, his sober judgment,
his almost uncanny powers of analysis and synthesis. Twenty-
one appendices, two indices, one plate, one genealogical table, and
three maps add to the usefulness of a work which will remain for
a long time to come the standard authority on the subject.
Of the numerous points on which the author throws new light
only a few may be noticed in the present place. Such are the
significance of the territorial divisions ending in -ene and -iane.
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858
(pp. 3 ff. and App. 2 ), Euthydemus’s chronology and genealogy
(pp. 73 &)> the parts played by Demetrius I, Apollodotus and
Menander in the great invasion of India (pp. 130 ff.), the story of
the Greek occupation of Pataliputra (pp. 132-33, 144-45, 453-55).
Eucratides’ relation to Antiochus IV and his chronology as well as
the significance of his war with Demetrius (pp. 195 ff. 215 ff.),
Menander’s chronology and empire and his attitude towards
Buddhism (pp. 227 ff.), identifications of nomadic tribes conquer-
ing Bactria and the date of their invasion (pp. 276 ff.), chronology
of the Saka conquest and specially the date of Maues’s death
(pp. 335 ff.), the history of Hermaeus and his chronology (pp. 339 ff .
and App. 17), the origin of the Buddha image (pp. 400 ff .)
and Agathocles’ pedigree coins (App. 3). Most useful and interest-
ing side-lights are thrown on such questions as the date of Candra-
gupta Maurya’s accession (p. 47 n.), Ptolemy’s sources and methods
(p. 231), the nationality of the nine Yavanas of Karli and Nasik cave
inscriptions (pp. 255 ff.), the myth of Hippalos (p. 369), .the two
Saka eras (App. 16), and the literary ancestry of the Milinda-panha
(pp. 414 ff.). The author notwithstanding his strong Hellenistic
culture seldom allows his judgment to be warped by his predilections.
This spirit of scientific detachment is particularly manifest in his
chapter on ‘The Greeks in India’ (Ch. IX), where he discusses the
highly controversy questions regarding the reciprocal influences of
the two civilisations concerned.
It is impossible in the course of a book-review to consider the
numerous points which the author has succeeded in illuminating
with his valuable researches. But a few remarks may be made
“The Greek empire of Bactria and India,” we are told in the Intro-
duction (p. xx). “was a Hellenistic state and its history was a
branch of Seleucid history.” That the emphasis has been unwitting-
ly laid in this passage will best appear from the author’s subsequent
description of Menander’s empire (p. 260) as essentially “an Indian
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859
empire with a small Greek ruling caste not a Greek empire as the
the Seleucid was made to be.” In the same context, (but with an
equally unconscious tendency towards self-contradiction) the author
assures us that the idea of partnership involved in Menander’s
empire was a legacy of Demetrius. In a preceding passage (p. 125)
he tells us even of Euthydemus that he ‘‘in some form took Bactria
into partnership.”
Describing the effects of Seleucid rule in Western Asia, the
author first emphasises the enormous success of the Seleucid era,
which he says (p. 62) ‘‘swept Asia.” Though this dictum is
subsequently (p. 359) modified to apply to ‘‘Asia west of India,” the
author still commits himself to the statement ( loc . cit •) that “the idea
of reckoning time from a date fixed once for all came to India with
the Greeks.” In proof of this statement he refers to the use of
Macedonian months in the datings of Kharosthi records of Saka and
Kusana periods, and of a Brahmi inscription from Mathura belong-
ing to the 28th year of Kaniska’s era. This however altogether
ignores the existence of the well-known Nirvana eras of the Buddhists
and Jainas, not to speak of the era of Nanda’s coronation which, as
Dr. G. Bose has first shown in his recent work called Purana-Pravesa
(pp. 94-95) has been used in the Puranic genealogical tradition-
The other effect of the Seleucid rule held by the author
as certain was “a general rise in the level of^Asia (pp. 69-66).
The only examples of this supposed change given by the author
are taken from the savage Carduchi and the piratical Nabataeans.
That the author’s statement is meant to be taken in an extremely
qualified sense is shown by his subsequent admission (p. 67) “that,
considered broadly, what the Asiatic took from the Greek was
usually externals only, matters of form; he rarely took substance...
and never spirit.”
It is difficult to agree with the author’s view (p. 258) that
Asoka’s empire except for his home counrty of Magadha was a
86o
Reviews
loose collection of vassal kings and free peoples under his suzerainty
with a few semi-autonomous cities like Taxila.” Only one vassal
king, the Yavanaraja Tusaspha, who was a governor of Surastta, is
known to history, though it is likely enough that some others existed.
Whatever that may be, the Asokan inscriptions introduce us to a
regular division of his empire into viceregal provinces as well as ad-
ministrative districts ruled by their proper officers. They show the
emperor not only as issuing orders for the guidance of local officers
(prddesikas, yuktas, raj u Isas'), but also as appointing a class of censors
( dbarma-mahamatras ) with jurisdiction over every class of subjects
and over every part of the empire. Reference may also be made to
Megasthenes’ testimony regarding the elaborate administrative
machinery in charge of the huge standing army of the empire, which
Asoka must have inherited from his ancestor.
The author’s description (p. 129) of the Maurya Empire after
Asoka’s death as “suffering the common lot of oriental empires,” is
interesting only as a poignant illustration of the old adage that ‘pre-
judices die hard.’ An unsophisticated oriental critic can only re-
call the memorable verdict which a recent English writer, remark-
able alike for the brilliance and versatility of his talents, and the
sturdy sanity of his historical judgments, has pronounced on the
historical position of the Roman Empire. “By the scale of a world-
history, the Roman ^Empire ceases to seem overwhelmingly important.
It lasted about four centuries in all, before it was completely shattered
'. During its four centuries of life the Empire of Rome had
phases of division and complete chaos. Its prosperous years, if they
are gathered together, and arrayed up do not amount in all to a
couple of centuries. Compared with the quite steady expansion,
the . security and the civilizing task of the contemporary Chinese
Empire, or with Egypt between 4000 atid 1000 B.C., or with Sumer
before the Semitic conquest, this amounts to a mere incident in
history. The Persian Empire of Cyrus which reached from the
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86 r
Hellespont to the Indus had as high a standard of civilisation, and its
homelands remained unconquered and fairly prosperous for over two
hundred years. Its predecessor the Median Empire had endured
for half-a-century The Seleucid dominion shrank at last to
the west of the Euphrates and became a part of the Roman Empire.
But Persia revived by the Parthians as a new Persian Empire first
under the Arsacids and then under the Sassanids outlived the Empire
of Rome.” (H. G. Wells, Outline of History, vol. I, p. 297).
From the fact that Justin’s date for Candragupta Maurya’s ac-
quisition of dominion corresponds to the Jaina dating of 313 or 312
B.C., the author infers (pp. 47 and 381) some knowledge of Jaina
literature on the part of the Greeks. Considering the close contact
of the Maurya Empire with the Hellenistic world for three genera-
tions of its sovereigns, it would be surprising if the classical writer
were to be indebted to a Jaina source alone for his knowledge of a
fact of outstanding importance for the history of India at that time.
It would of course be quite otherwise if the Greek author had quoted
a characteristic point of Jaina doctrine or discipline. If an Indian
source were to be predicated for Justin’s statement, it might as well
have been found ultimately in the traditions of the Puranas, embody-
ing the most systematic accounts of Ancient Indian genealogies.
For, as Dr. G. Bose has recently shown ( Purana-Pravesa , p. 155)’
one of the Puranic dates for Candragupta Maurya s accession
works out to 315 B.C. which is a close approximation to Justin’s
dating.
Equally ingenious, but unconvincing, are the author s grounds
for holding (pp. 380-381) that some Greeks almost certainly knew
the Mahabharata. On the authority of two Indian scholars he con-
siders the well-known verse in Heliodorus’ Besnagar inscription
(translated as “Three immortal precepts when practised lead to heaven
etc.”) to be a concise rendering of two Mahabharata passages.
Without denying the close relation of these texts, it may be urged
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1 938
86 2
Reviews
that there exist no grounds for assigning the Mahabharata as a
complete work to the 2nd century B. C. If the pious Yavana
ambassador had taken the verse from a work of recognised
authority, it would be natural for him to quote the same in his
record. It seems more probable that he derived it from the same
source that was drawn upon not only by the Mahabharata but
also by the literature of the Buddhists and the Jainas, viz., what
Winternitz calls for want of a better name, ‘the ascetic literature.’
These arguments would not lose their force even if we were to accept
with the author Marshall’s interpretation of the Besnagar text in
the sense that Heliodorus pledged himself thereby to the virtues
that he mentioned.
On the analogy of Dharmaraja meaning, as the author writes,
“the king who does the whole duty of the king,” the author proceeds
to explain (p. 256) dhammayavana of a Karli donative inscription to
mean “a Greek who does the whole duty of a Greek.” ‘‘The
Dhamma of a Greek was his duty as a citizen of a folis, and the
Indian who called himself Dhammayavana thereby claimed that he
carried out the duties of a Greek citizen; that is, he was a citizen of a
Greek folis.” Without asking for an explanation of the transformation
of Greek into Indian in the above translation (and such an explana-
tion would have been very desirable in view of the author’s admission
that the Indian in -question could not have been a ‘culture-Greek’),
we would point ’Cut the grave difficulties in the way of the author’s
interpretation. According to rules of Sanskrit grammar, dharmaraja
primarily means ‘king of justice’ from which may be derived the
secondary sense of ‘a king who does the whole duty of a king.’ To
get the sense of one who does the whole duty of a Yavana, we should
have some such derivative as Yavanadharma. A form like Dharma-
yavana in the above sense is unknown to Sanskrit grammar. There is
no other choice than to take with Stein (Indian Culture, I, p. 347)
Dharmayavana as a personal name. Stein indeed thinks that he was
Reviews
863
a Yavana by birth, who got after his conversion that new name or
was called so by his Indian friends.” He happily quotes an
instance of Dharma being used as a personal name from a
Nagarjunakonda inscription. To us it seems that the donor of the
inscription took the title of Dhammayavana to emphasise his
difference from the type of dustavikranta-yavanas mentioned in the
Yuga-purana, for which a parallel may be found in the contrast
between Kalasoka and Dharmasoka in the Asokan legendary
tradition. In the alternative, he may have translated the
first part of his original name into Dharma and tagged
on to it his ethnic designation (cf. the author’s weighty remarks
about the nomenclature of Greeks in India, p. 392). This at any
rate would be more in keeping with the object of the record than
the uncalled-for vaunt that the donor was a citizen of a Greek polls.
Another fatal objection to the author’s view is to be found in some
similar but fuller inscriptions from Karle and Nasik. In twelve of these
inscriptions (Ep. lnd. 3 VII, pp. 52-53 and XVIII, pp. 326-328),
the donors hail from the same place (Dhenukakata) which was the
home of Dhammayavana and most of them are careful to mention
their families or corporations or professions, but none of them makes
the slightest reference to Dhenukakata as enjoying any special
distinction. It seems that while most of these donors as house-
holders thought it fit to refer to their family or otter connections,
this was found unnecessary by Dhammayavana who was a
Buddhist monk.
Admitting that the historical sections of the Yuga-purana are
based on a lost chronicle ‘written soon after the events described,’
there is no reason to believe with Dr. Tarn (p. 378 and App. 4),
that “the original Indian author wrote under the influence of Greek
historical writing.” Both as regards form and substance (the Yuga-
purana statements are made in the form of prophecies and they
refer to the Kali Yuga), the Indian author adopts the fashion followed
Reviews
864
afterwards in the genealogical sections of the Puranas, the Manjusrt-
mulakalpa and so forth. Indeed, Jayaswal, who edited and translat-
ed the Y uga-purana text ( JBORS 1928), described the supposed
Prakrit original of the Y uga-purana as the earliest known Purana.
This style of composition or literary genere is as old as the early
Vedic period, for we have reference to compositions called itihasa and
purana as early as in the Atharva-veda (XV, 6, 4) and these are fre-
quently mentioned in the subsequent literature as a single compound
doubtless because of their close approximation. They contain
besides legendary matter, stories of ancient kings and Rsis (cf. Winter-
nitz, Gescbichte, I, 260). A number of passages of Yaska’s Nirukta
which at any rate must be long anterior to Alexander’s invasion distin-
guishes aitihasikas from nairuktas and this has led Sieg ( Die Sagen-
staffe des Rigveda , p. 16) to conclude that the former unlike the latter
supplied the natural explanation of the Ancient Indian tradition. To
revert to the author’s view, practically his sole argument is that “no
Indian wrote or understood history.” This sweeping statement is
hardly likely to commend itself to any serious student of Indian
history at the present day.
We have noticed a few slips in the transliteration of Indian
names which may be corrected in a later edition. Such are Vindya
(p. 129), Kusumadjava (p. 145), Dharmarakkita (p. 148), Malva
(p. 242 «.), Rhenukaka (p. 255 n.), Amogabhuti (p. 325),
Battacharya (381 n.), Druva (pp. 454-456), Bhagavat (p. 406),
Pandhya (p. 51 1). Examples of slips in maps are Nagir and
Yaudeyas (Map 2). It is not known on what authority the Taxila
region is placed outside Gandhara (Map 2). We do not know what
grounds exist for identifying Aparanta with Gujarat (p. 148), for
describing Pusyarnitra as ‘a hereditary ruler of Vidisa (p. 133) and for
characterising Sophagasenos as certainly a Maurya (p. 130). Nor
can we subscribe to the statement that the ‘fragments’ (sic) of
Bhasa’s dramas belong to the first century A.D. (p. 382).
Reviews
865
We cannot conclude without expressing our high appreciation
of the work under notice which in many ways may serve as a
model for those who are engaged in the inevstigation of the
Ancient History of India and cognate topics.
U. N. Ghoshal
BRAHMAN-ROMaNKATHALIK-SAMBAD by Dom
Antonio, edited with an introduction, notes and an index by Surendra
Nath Sen, published by the Calcutta University, 1937, pp. Ixiv + 88.
The present volume contains (in Roman as well as in Bengali
character) the earliest specimen of Bengali prose composed sometime
in the second-half of the 17th century. The author of this work
was one Don Antonio who was converted to Roman Catholic Chris-
tianity by Portuguese missionaries. It contains a discussion about
the relative excellence of Hinduism and Christianity between a
Christian (Roman Catholic) and a Brahmin. Prof. Sen has done good
service to the Bengali language by procuring a copy of this rare work
(in MS.) from Evora (Portugal) and publishing it in a suitable form.
For, this gives us good materials for the study of the evolution of
Bengali prose as well as the Bengali phonology at the end of the
17th century. Prof. Sen’s learned introduction discussing different
aspects of the history of this work as well as of it.<^ author has added
to the value of this volume. It is amusing to note that in this cate-
chism of Christianity the author has firmly believed in miracles con-
nected with Jesus Christ while he rejected them in tase of Krsna.
But we are however not concerned with the contents of the work
which has only philological interest for us. Prof. Sen as well as the
Calcutta University are to be congratulated for making this interest-
ing and important work accessible to us in a suitable form.
Manomohan Ghosh
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
Aota Orientalia, vol. XVII, pars II
H. H. FlGULLA. — Manichder in lndien und das Zeitalter des tamu-
lischen Dichters Manikkavacager .
J. Gonda. — Monosyllaba am Satz-und Versschluss im Altindischen.
W. F. Stutterheim. — Note on Sdktism in Java. The Hinduistic
sovereigns of Java used to build temples, enshrining in them
images of their deified predecessors. An image of Prajhapara-
mita has been found representing Rajapatm Gayatri, whose
daughter ascended the throne. Thus Gayatri being the proge-
nitor of the royal, family of Majapahit attained the position of
the Mother Goddess or Adisakti and the indigenous matrilineal
conceptions paved the way for Saktism in Java.
Annals of tbe Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute vol. XIX,
part iii (April, 1938)
V. S. Sukthankar. — Epic Studies VII: The Oldest Extant Ms. of
the Adiparvan. A ms. of the Adiparvan of the Mahdbhdrata
discovered from Nepal is claimed to have been more than seven
hundred years old. In this paper the ms. has been
described, and compared with the critical edition of the
Adiparvan published from Poona. The evidence of the ms.
supports many of the emendations made in that edition.
O. C. Gangoly. — Non-Aryan Contribution to Indian Music. The
melody of Bhairavi, the de'si (folk) type of music, and some of
the Ragas mentioned in Matanga’s Brhaddest, are conjectured to
have been originated from the aboriginal tribes like the Mallas,
Takkas, Sakas, Abhiras and Bhiravas.
Yekantayogi. — Categories in Sri Madhya’ s Dvaita Vedanta.
P. K. Gode. — Date of Natakalaksanaratnakosa of Sagaranandin —
Before A.D. 1431.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
867
Prahlad C. Divanji.— Pro blems of PahcaZasi. l'he writer of this
paper is of the opinion that the fifteen chapters of the Pancadasi
were originally separate booklets arranged and given the collective
name Pancadasi at a later date. The work can be divided into
three well-defined groups of five chapters each, of which the
first two groups are inferred to have been composed by
Vidyaranya and the last by his teacher Bharat! Tirtha.
Adris Banerji. — Studies on Indian History. Information is put
together about the two little known dynasties that ruled from
the 10th century a.c. over parts of Eastern Bengal, — the
Candra in Hankela or Vanga and the Varmans in Vikramapura.
Anthropological Society of Bombay, Jubilee Volume, 1937
P. CaDELL. — Who are the Descendants of the People of Mohenjo-
Daro ?
H. Heras. — Tree Worship in Mohenjo-Daro.
Archiv Orientalnl, vol. X, nos. 1-2 (June, 1938)
O. Stein. — <Silpasdstra and Arthasastra IV. This is a comparison of
the directions contained in the Silpasastra and the Arthasastra
regarding the nature and form of the royal palace, the royal
camp, stables and mechanical contrivances.
V. Lesny. — Genealogische Strophen als diteste Bestandteile der epis-
chen Sanskrit-dichtung.
Are Istamlca, vol. V, pt. I (1938)
H. Goetz. — Sher Shah’s Mausoleum at Sasaram . The tomb of Sher
Shah at Sasaram and other connected buildings have been des-
cribed, and their historical and artistic importance shown in this
paper.
Aryan Path, vol. IX, no. 5 (May, 1938)
R. K. Mookerji. — Education in Ancient India.
868
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
ft*, vol. IX, no. 7 (July, 1938)
G. Heard. — Karma: What its Realisation entails .
G. R. Malkani . — Karma according to Hinduism.
H. I. A. Fausset — Karma, Reincarnation and the Individual.
C. A. F. Rhys Davids. — Man and Deity in Original Buddhism.
Ibid.« vol. IX, nos. 10 & 11 (Oct.-Nov., 1938)
K. S. Ramaswami Sastri. — Warfare in Ancient India.
H. G. Cimino . — Pharmacy and Fire Therapy in India and Assyria
4000 years ago.
Brahmavidya, vol. II, parts II-IV
C. Kunhan Raja. — Rgveda-vyakhya- Madhava’s commentary on
the Rgveda is being published serially.
N. Aiyaswami Sastri. — Bhavasamkrantisutra and Nagarjunas
Bbavasamkrantisastra with commentary of Maitreyanatha. The
Tibetan version and an English Introduction are contained in
instalments in these three parts of the journal.
C. Kunhan Raja. — Asvalayanagrbyasutra with Devasvamibhasya.
Edited in part 2.
C. Kunhan Raja. — Samavedasamhita with the commentaries of
Madhava and Bharatasvamin. The editing of the text
continues.
A. N. Krishna Aiyangar. — Asvalayanagrbyasutra with Deva-
svami-bhasya. The English translation of the work has com-
menced with the 4th part of the journal-
Bulletin of the Rama Varma Research Institute, vol. VI, part II
(July, 1938)
K. R. Pisharoti. — Krsnas of Kerala. Krsnalilasuka, author of the
Snkrsnakarnamrta is the forernost among the Kerala Sanskrit
writers with the name Krsna. Villamangalam (not Vilva 0 ) was
the designation of his family. As two other literary men be-
longing to the same family and bearing the identical name
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
869
flourished at different periods, some confusion arises about the
Lilasuka and Villamangala traditions. The writer of this paper
tries to distinguish these Krsnas by giving an account of their
lives and works.
P. S. Anantanarayana Sastri. — The Pravesaka. It is a descrip-
tion of a Sanskrit grammar written in verse by Acyuta Pisharoti
of Trikkandiyur in the 16th century a.c.
L. V. Ramaswami Aiyar. — A Primer of Malayalam Phonology.
Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, vol. IV, pt. Ill
H. W. Bailey. — Hvatanica III. In this instalment of the study is
edited a short Sanskrit-Khotanese bilingual text containing
dialogues between the people of Kantsou and an Indian
bhiksu, who is represented as about to visit the abode of Manju-
sri on the five-peaked mountain of U-t‘ai-san in China.
Alfred Master. — A Numismatic Contribution to Middle Indian
Phonology. The Brahmi or Kharosthi legends on the coins of
Nahapana are found transliterated on the reverse in Greek ins-
cription. This transliteration suggests in that period some
phonological changes in the loss of final a, pronunciation of h
and final o.
T. Burrow. — Dravidian Studies I.
Burlington Magazine, LXVIII, nos. 425, 426 (August, September, 1938)
H. Goetz. — Oriental Types and Scenes in Renaissance and Baroque
Painting. The paper contains a detailed analysis of the re-
presentations and misrepresentations of the Eastern themes and
places including those of India in the Italian, Cerman and
Dutch paintings of four centuries (14th to 17th).
Calcutta Review, April, 1938
D. Sen. — Pre-historic Cultures and Ancient Rivers in India.
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
27
870
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
Ibid., June, 1938
D. C. Sircar. — Visvesvara, a Bengali Saiva Saint of the Thirteenth
Ibid., October, 1938
S. Akhand. — Divyoka , a National Hero of Bengal .
Ibid., November, 1938
Phanibhusan Mitra. — Introduction to the Philosophy of Kanada.
Kunja Govinda Goswami. — Exacavation at Bangarh .
Dacca University Studies, vol., II, no. 2 (January, 1938)
R. C. Majumdar. — Outline of the History of Kalinga. The paper
deals with ‘the main landmarks in the history of Kalinga for a
period of more than seven hundred years, from the conquest of
Samudragupta to the accession of Anantavarma Codaganga’ in
1078 A-C.
Rajendra Chandra Hazra. — ^he Mahapuranas ■ The place of the
Puranas in Hindu literature and the history of their develop-
ment are discussed.
Epigraphia Indica, vol. XXII, part VIII
R. R. Haldar. — Chirava Inscription of the Time of Samarasimha of
Mewar ( Vikrama Samvat rjjo).
Ibid., vol. XXIII, pt. V
G. V. Acharya. — A Grant of Gurjara King Jayabhatta III :
Kalacuri year 486.
N. G. Majumdar. — Mallasarul Copper-plate of Vijayasena.
B. V. Krishna Rao — Tandikonda Grant of Ammaraja II.
M. M. Nagar. — Fragmentary Inscription of Queen Uddalladevi:
V.S. 1294.
V. V. Aiyar. — The Vailur Inscription of Kopperunfengadeva.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals 871
R. S. Panchamukhi — Sangur Inscription of Yadava Mahadeva-
raya: Saka 1168.
— . — Sangur Inscription of Devaraya-Maharaya: Saka 13 29.
B. Ch. Chhabra . — A Note on the Tiriyaya Rock Inscription.
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, vol. Ill, no. 2 (July, 1938)
L. de La Vallee Poussin. — Buddhica.
Illustrated London News, vol. CXCII, no. 5165 (16th April, 1938)
T. Feige. — ■ Mysterious Statues Found in a Borneo Cave: Relics of
Hinduism.
— . — Sacred Images Hidden by Hindu Priests.
Ibid., 23rd July, 1938
H. G. Quaritch Wales . — New Light on Buddhist Art : Bronzes
from Malay alan Tin-Mines.
Indian Art and Letters, vol. XI, no. 2
Ragini Devi . — Kathakali and the Classical Dance in India.
Paul Mus . — Angkor in the Time of Jayavarman VII.
M. Abdulla Chaghtai . — Indian Links with Central Asia in
Architecture.
Ibid., vol. XII, no. 1
Percy Brown . — The Art of Nepal
Jeannine Auboyer . — The Symbolism of Sovereignty in India
according to Iconography (Parasols — Thrones ).
K. B. Iyer. — Kathakali, the Classical Dance-Drama of Malabar.
Ibid. 1 vol. XII, No. 2
Yusuf Syed — Paithan Excavations.
Indian Culture, vol. IV, no. 4 (April, 1938)
BatakrISHNA Ghosh. — T heime and Panirii. The writer discusses in
detail the Pragrhya sutras of Panini and puts forward arguments
872 Select Contents of Oriental Journals
in reply to the criticism against his thesis that Panini
has borrowed from the Rkpratisdkhya even without understand-
ing what he was appropriating.
Vasudeva S. Agrawala. — Aditi and the Great Goddess. Passages
from the Vedic and Sanskrit literature have been put together
in this paper to show that the Vedic deity Aditi has characteri-
stics corresponding to those associated with the Mother Goddess.
Habibur Rahman Khundkar. — Pre-Gupta Chronology.
Rajendra Chandra Hazra. — Lihga Purana. A discussion on the
contents and character of the Lihga Purana.
Charu Chandra Das Gupta. — Horse in Pre-Maurya Art.
B. N. Krishnamurti Sarma. — Madhva Influence on Bengal
Vaisnavism. According to the writer of this note, the Bengal
Vaisnavas were only partially influenced by the Madhva sys-
tem of thought till the time of Jiva Gosvamin, but Baladeva
Vidyabhusan became a close follower of that order and believ-
ed that the school of Caitanya directly descended from the
Dvaita Philosophy of Madhva.
Atindra Nath Bose. — The Date of the Arthasastra. On account
of the mention in the Arthasatra of some words and customs
believed to have been prevalent in the 1st century after Christ,
the work is assigned to that date.
P. C. Dharma, — Musical Culture in the Ramayana .
A. S. Altekar. — The Vissicitudes of the Marriage Age of Girls in
Hindu Society. This is an historical survey of the marriageable
age of the Hindu girls, which varied in different periods of the
Hindu Society.
B. A. Saletore. — Internal Security of the Vijayanagar Empire.
P. K. Gode. — Identity of Makkibhatta, the Author of a Commen-
tary on Sripati’s Siddhantasekhara with Makkibhatta , the
Author of a Commentary on the Raghuvamsa.
S. M. Katre. — Materials for a Dhatupatha of Indo- Aryan.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals 873
Radhagovinda Basak. — Vittapala and Hari. It is stated in the
Rdmacarita that Bhima captured by Ramapala was placed under
the care of one Vittapala while Hari continued the battle on
behalf of Bhima. The note identifies Vittapala with one of the
sons of Ramapala, and Hari with a son of Bhima’s elder brother.
Nandalal Chatterji — Some New Light on Shujauddaula’s
Character and Policy.
Adris Banerji. — The Muslim Occupation of Northern India.
The note points out that the conquest of India by the Muslims
was not an easy affair, requiring, as it did, nine hundred years
of continuous campaigns.
Jogendra Chandra Ghosh. — Date of Commencement of the
Gahgeya Era. The conclusion arrived at here is that the
Gahgeya Era commenced on the day following the full-moon
of the solar month of Asadha in the year 496 a.c.
K. P. Jain. — The Antiquity of Jainism in South India. The con-
tention of the writer is that Jainism had been prevailing in
South India long before the Jain saints led by Srutakevali
Bhadrabahu in the time of Candragupta Maurya migrated to
that region.
Dines Chandra Sircar. — The Southern Kekayas- The epigra-
phic evidences prove that a ruling dynasty called Kekaya existed
also in South India in the Chitaldrug District of Mysore in the
middle of the 5th century a.c.
Dhirendranath Mookerji. — Acarya Vasubandhu, the Teacher of
Sthiramati. The date of Vasubandhu is discussed to show
that the Gupta Era is identical with the Vikrama Samvat of
58 B.C. and Fleets’ epoch is based on wrong calculations.
A. D. Pusalkar. — One Bhasa Verse and its Bearing on the Bhasa
Problem. A suitable context is suggested in Bhasa’s Abhi-
seka Nataka for a verse quoted as Bhasa’s composition in the
874
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
Abhinavabharati, but not found in any of the Trivandrum
plays ascribed to that poet.
Ibid., vol. V, no. 1, (July, 1938)
V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar. — The South Indian Customs in
the Smrtis. Customs prevalent in South India but not looked
upon with favour in other parts of the country have been shown
to have the authority of the Dharmasastras.
Aziz Ahmad. — Central Organization of the Early Turkish Empire
of Delhi ( 1206-1290 A.D .)
Jogendra Chandra Ghosh. — Caste of the Satavahanas and the
Iksvdkus. The Satavahanas and the Iksvakus of South India
are regarded as Brahmanas.
B. C. Law. — Telakatahagatha. A Pali poem of 98 stanzas con-
taining religious exhortations showing the ills of the world has
been translated here into English with explanatory notes.
Kalipada Mitra. — A Jain View of the Origin of Institutions.
How a great many institutions originated with Rsabha, the
first Tirthankara, has been related from a legendary account of
the Jains.
K. K. Basu. — The Reign of ‘Ali ‘ Adil Shah of Bijapur (1557 A.D.-
1564 A.D . ).
S. K. De. — -Copula Bhatta. The paper deals with the life and
career of Gopala Bhatta, one of the six revered Gosvamins of
the Caitanya sect of Vaisnavism in Bengal.
Anil Chandra Banerji. — Some Important Officers of the Sultans
of Delhi.
Ksetresh Chandra Chattopadhyaya — Theime and Panini.
This is a rejoinder to the reply of Dr. Batakrishna Ghosh, who
believes that Panini has borrowed from the Rkpratisakhya.
Sushil K. Bose. — A New Type of Andhra Coin.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
875
, Amarnath Ray. — Visnu Puri, Author of the Bhaktiratnavali.
The writer maintains that Visnu Puri could not have been a
disciple of a Madhva teacher and that the origin of the Bengal
Vaisnavism was not influenced by Madhvaism.
Dhirendranath Mookerjee. — The Haraha Inscription of Mau-
khari Maharajadhirajd Isanavarman ■ The discussion is follow-
ed by the writer’s conculsion that Fleet’s epoch of the Gupta
Era is not correct.
M. Abdulla Chaghtai. — About Anarkali. The Anarkali. tomb
is not connected with the burial of any lady of that name.
h.. L. Barua — The Gupta Era. The chronology of the Kamarupa
kings shows that Mr. Dhirendranath Mookerjee’s identification
of the Gupta Era with the Vikrama Sarnvat of 58 B.c. cannot
be maintained.
Ibid 1 vol, V, no. 2 (October, 1938)
N. Venkata Ramanayya. — The Date of the Rebellions of Tilang
and Kampila against Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughlaq. To
be continued.
V. Raghavan — The History of Svabhavokti in Sanskrit Poetics-
B. N. Saletore. — The Bedars in Maratha Times. The Bedars
were uncontrollable wild tribes helping as^ilso harassing the
Maratha powers in Southern India.
J. C. De. — Early {organised) English Traders in Bengal : Their
Motives.
K. S. Ramaswami Sastri. — The Aryan Colonies of Kiskindha and
Lanka.
Chintaharan Chakravarti. — Little-known Works of Celebrated
Authors. Descriptive accounts of five mss. belonging to the
Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal are given in this note. Of these
the Tattva-kamalakara, Mimamsakutuhala and Mantrakama-
876
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lakara are by Kamalakara Bhatta and the Tarapradipa and the
Kalitattva are by Laksmana Desika and Raghava Bhatta.
N. N. Das Gupta. — Vibhiiticandra of the Jagaddala Mahavihara.
Journal of the American Oriental Society, March, 1938
W. N. Brown. — An Old Gujarati Text of the Kalaka Story. A
short text entitled Kalikasiirikatha containing a version of the
well-known Kalaka Story in Old Gujarati has been edited, and
translated into English.
Ibid., June, 1938
F. Edgerton. — Rome and (?) Antioch in the Mahabharata. A
verse of the Mahabharata (Sabha, 31, 72 = Calcutta Ed. ii,
11 75) w ^ en slightly emended may be interpreted to have a
reference to Sahadeva’s conquest of Antioch, Rome and
Alexandria : spa'll (?) ifaf =«r qsRHt gr 1
Ibid., September, 1938
S. D. Atkins. — A Vedic Hymn to the Sun-God Surya.
Journal of the Andhara Historical Research Society, vol. XI, pts.
3 & 4 (January & April, 1938)
N. Venkataramanayya. — Telugu Literature and History. That
a mass of historical information can be gathered from Telugu
literary works has been indicated in the paper and some
examples tup'e also been given.
B. V. Krishna. — The Mathara or Pitrbhakta Kings of Kalihga-
Kings belonging to the Mathara dynasty with the legend
Pitrbhakta on their seals ruled over Kalihga for about 90 years
up to the middle of the 5th century A C. when the imperial
Visnukundins of Andhra appropriated for themselves the
sovereignty of Kalihga by relegating the Matharas to the level
of a feudatory family.
R. N. Saletore. — Features of Bedara Administration in South
India.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
877
M. Rama Rao — -The So-called Regency of Sri Narahari Tirtha in
Katihga. Narahari Tirtha, a religious teacher of the Madhva
school lived in Kalinga in the 13 th century of the Christian
Era . Arguments have been put forward by the writer against
Narahari’s reputed regency for 12 years oyer the country of
Kalinga.
M. Ramakrishna Kavi. — Hindu Music under a Sultan. The
Sahgitasiromani is a voluminous work dealing with dancing
and music, vocal as well as instrumental. It was compiled by
various Hindu scholars assembled at a conference held in the
year 1429 a.c. under the direct patronage of the Muham-
madan ruler of Kada, a city on the Southern bank of the Ganges
about 40 miles from Allahabad.
B. V. Krishna Rao. — Epigraphic Notes. Inscriptional evidences
show that the reign of the Eastern Calukya king Rajarajana-
rendra came to an end in October, 1061 a.c. when Vijayaditya
VIII’s reign commenced.
— . — Three Copper-plate Inscriptions of the Reddi Dynasty. Of
the three records published here, one belongs to Kumaragiri of
Kondavidu and the remainder to his brother-in-law, Katayavema
of Rajamahendranagara.
Journal of the Annamalai University, vol. 1I\ no. 3
(June, 1938)
V. Vridhagirisan. — Rajendra Cola III ( A-D . 1246 to 1278).
R. Ramanujachari and S. Srinivasachari. — Nyayakulisa. This
instalment contains the concluding portion of the, elaborate
Sanskrit Introduction to Atreya Ramanuja’s Nyayakulisa, a
work on the Visistadvaita school of Vedanta, edited in the
previous issues of the journal.
— v — Nitimala. The edition of Narayanarya’s Nitimala is
completed.
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
28
878
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Ibid., vol., VIII, no. 1 (October, 1938)
A. Chidambaranath Chettiar. — The Passive Voice in Tamil.
V. A. Ramaswami Sastri — Bhartrhari a Pre-Sahkara Advaitin.
Bhartrhari, the author of th tVakyapadiya, is shown to have
been one of the earliest exponents of the doctrines of the advaita
system of philosophy before Sankara.
B. N. Krishnamurti Sarma. — The Dasaprakaranas. Ten minor
philosophical treatises by Madhva dealing with the various
aspects of his Dvaita system are termed Dasaprakaranas, which
have been described in this paper.
R. Ramanujachari and S. Srinivasachari. — Nyayakulisa. This
is an English Introduction to the previously edited Nyayakulisa.
Journal Asiatique, Tome CCXXIX, Avril-Juin, 1937
L. Renou. — Notes sur les origines vediques de Ganesa.
Journal of the Assam Research Society, vol. VI, no. 1 (April, 1938)
Jogendra Chandra Ghosh. — Utkocas of Kamarupa. The
Utkocas or Kamarupi Raksasas mentioned in the Puranas lived
on the Southern peak of the Devakuta mountain. They spoke
an impure dialet and were followers of the Varayana Buddhism.
The writer of the note is inclined to think that the Salastambha
dynasty ruling over Kamarupa from the seventh to the tenth
“ century belgpged to the Utkoca tribe.
K. L. Barua. — Human Sacrifices in Assam. — Sir Edward Gait’s
inference that human sacrifices were widely prevalent in Assam
has been opposed in this note.
R. M. Nath. — Early Vaisnavism in Kamarupa. It has been shown
in the article that the Vasudeva cult had gained currency in
Kamarupa long before the advent of Sankaradeva and that it
had even been patronised by the State during the reign of
Dharmapala. Owing to the fall of the Pala dynasty and the
rise of Buddhist Tantricism in the country, the progress of the
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
879
Vaisnava cult had received a set-back till Sankaradeva came to
revive it.
. — The Worship of the Jackal and the Dog in India.
Ibid., vol. VI, no. 2 (July, 1938)
K. L. Barua. — Iran and Eastern India. Legendary accounts in
the Ferista indicate that in ancient times there was a close rela-
tionship between Iran and India. The writer is of the
opinion that long before the Aryan invasion, Alpine tribes
from Iran had migrated to India and settled along the foot-hills
of the Himalayas. The people like the Kalitas or Kaltas of the
Assam Valley and Northern Bengal are descendants of these im-
migrants and the languages spoken in Bihar, Bengal, Assam
and Orissa have originated from the Paisaci tongue of the
Alpo-Dinaric race.
Journal of the Benares Hindu University, vol. II, no. 2 (1938)
Rahula Sankrityayana. — History of Buddhism in Tibet.
Radhakumud Mookerji. — The Meaning of Veda and the Signi-
ficance of Vedic Yajfias.
Raj Bali Pandey. — The Purpose of the Hindu Samskaras. The
institution of the Hindu religious sacraments have been
divided into two classes, one serving the needs of the popular
faith and unsophisticated minds, the other ^originating from
the conscious forces governing the ‘development and evolution
of society.
K. Bhattacharya. — The Evidence about the Black Hole Tragedy.
An analysis of the contemporary records yields no conclusive
testimony to prove the occurrence of the Black Hole Tragedy.
P. N. Pattabhirama Sastri. — . • This paper in
Sanskrit discusses the differences in the view-points of
Kumarila Bhatta and Prabhakara Misra, regarding the prob-
lems of the Mimanisa system of philosophy.
880 Select Contents of Oriental Journals
Ibid., vol. II, no. 3 (1938)
A. S. Altekar. — Dress and Ornaments of the Hindu Women.
This study of the dress and ornaments of Hindu women of
different times and regions is illustrated with plates of represen-
tative sculptures and paintings of the past.
K. C. Varadachari. — T he Hindu Theory of Beauty: A Psycho-
logical Approach.
Raj Bali Pandey. — The Constituents of Hindu Samskaras. Fire,
prayer, sacrifice, orientation, symbolism etc. required in the
performance of Hindu religious sacraments have been detailed,
and taboos observed in that connection have been noted.
V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar. — The Cow in Hindu Life.
Bhagawat Saran Upadhya. — Social India as Depicted by Kali-
dasa. Dress, ornaments, articles of toilet, social habits, popular
beliefs and superstitions, festive occasions, amusements, mora-
lity, furniture and other household necessaries, vechicles and
horticulture are the subjects discussed in the paper.
Journal of the Bihar znd Orissa Research Society vol. XXIV,
pts. I-II (March- June, 1938)
A. S. Altekar. — The History of the Widow’s Right of Inheritance.
The whole period of Indian history from the age of the Vedas
down to the present times has been laid under contribution for
•determining the position of widows in Hindu society in
regard to their right of inheritance.
C. S. Srinivasachari — Pre-Dravidian, Proto-Dravidian and Dravi-
dian. The identity of these people has been examined, and
problems connected with the theory of their racial continuity
in India and difficulties experienced in ascertaining the Dravi-
dian origin of the Mohenjo-Daro civilisation have been
discussed.
Sarat Chandra Mitra — On the Cult of the Codling Bir Kuar
in the Palamau District in Chota Nagpur.
88 1
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Rahula Sankrityayana — 5RT<pnl&Wf. Dharmakirti’s Pramanavar-
tika, an important work on Buddhist logic has been edited
from original mss. obtained from Nepal and Tibet.
Ibid., vol., XXIV, pt. Ill (September, 1938)
A. Banerji-Sastri. — Punch-marked Cof-per Band from Patna
(With Plates).
J. C. Ghose. — Antiquity of Gaya.
V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar. — Paternal ‘ Despotism ’ in Ancient
India-
A. K. Coomarswamy. — The Pilgrim’s Way — A Buddhist
Recension. The Nikaya adaptation of the Brahmana legend
of Rohita is discussed.
Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. XIV (19381
H. D. Valenkar. — Rgvedic Similes- With a view to arriving at
the true meanings of the Rgvedic stanzas through an analysis
of their rhetorical aspects, the writer has translated into English
and annotated the similes of the Vamadeva hymns contained
in the 4th Mandala of the Rgveda.
H. Heras. — The Tirayars in Mohenjo-Daro. Tirayars, meaning
‘people of the sea’, are said to have been mentioned in several
inscriptions found in the Indus Valley. By an examination of
these inscriptions it has been inferred that the Tirayars, divjded
into five sections, were a rich tribe in the prSto-historic period
of India carrying on trade with foreign lands.
Journal of the Greater India Society, vol. V, no. 2 (July, 1938)
Wilhelm Geiger. — Contributions from the Mahavamsa to our
Knowledge of the Medieeval Culture of Ceylon.
K. A. Nilakanta Sastri. — Kataha. In an attempt to locate the
Kataha country mentioned in the Katbasaritsagara as also in the
Cola records, the writer discusses the connected problems and
identifies it with San-fotsi in the kingdom of Kadaram-Srivijaya.
882
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U. N. Ghoshal. — Some Indian Parallels of Lokesvara Types in
Indo-China.
E. H. Johnston. — The Rastrapalanataka of Asvaghosa. The
Vddanyaya mentions a‘ drama by Asvaghosa with the title
Rastrapala. There exists also a Chinese translation of a musical
composition by Asvaghosa which is termed Rastrapala. So, it
may be inferred that Asvaghosa did write a play about
Rastrapala.
Journal of Indian History, vol. XVII, pt. 1 (April, 1938)
P. C. Dharma. — Women during the Ramayana Period. Informa-
tion has been given about the habits, customs, education,
accomplishments, toilette, status and rights of women as can
be gleaned from the Ramayana-
P. L. Paul. — Buddhism in Ancient Bengal-
Dasaratha Sarma. — Is Candra of the Meherauli Pillar Inscription,
Candragupta of the -Maury a Dynasty ? The writer is not
in favour of identifying the Candra of the inscription with the
Maurya emperor.
V. Vridhagirisan. — The Yadavarayas. This is an account of the
Jeudatory chiefs belonging to the Yadavaraya family that ruled
from the i^h to the 14th century over Tondaimandalam,
T. V. Mahalingam. — Tirumalaideva Maharaya. Evidences are
discussed showing that Krsnadeva Raya, the great emperor
of Vijayanagara had crowned his son Tirumala as Yuvaraja
when very young, but did not abdicate his throne as written by
a Portuguese chronicler.
C. S. Srinivasachari. — The Historical Material in the Private
Diary of Ananda Ranga Pillai (from October 1757 to June
17158).
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
883
Ibid., vol. XVII, pt. II (August, 1938)
W. H. MORELAND.— From Gujarat to Golconda in the Reign of
Jahangir. Information regarding the route from Gujarat to
Golconda is given from the diaries kept by two Dutchmen who
travelled from Masulipatam to Surat and back between the years
1613 and 1617.
S. K. Banerj. — Humayun s Religion. The devout character of the
parents, religious traditions in the family, the Shia influence
through matrimony and a liberal education together with the
beneficial company of his enlightened courtiers contributed
much to make Humayun catholic in outlook and tolerant in
heart.
D. B. S. Reddi. — Medicine at the Moghul Court , The condition
of curative treatment detailed here relates Babar and his times.
S. Somasundara Desikar. — Viceroys of the Nayaks of Madura.
Abdul Aziz. — Thrones, Chairs and Seats used by the Indian
Mughals.
C. S. Srinivasachari. — The Historical Material in the Private
Diary of Ananda Ranga Pillai (from July 1758 to September
l 759\
Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,
vol. XV, part III
R. Braddel. — An Introduction to the Study of Ancient Tim'es in
the Malaya Peninsula and the Straits of Malacca : Pre-Funan.
The story is related from the Kedab Annals how the Indians
were introduced into the Malaya Peninsula before the middle
of the 3rd century a.c.
C. G. Griffith Williams . — Suggested Origin of the Malay
Keris and of the Superstitions attaching to it. The attribution
of magical properties to the Malay Keris, a beautiful
dagger, is said to have dated from the time of the Hindu-Moslem
Wars in Java.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
884
Ibid., vol. JXVI, part I
C. N. Maxwell. — Language Affinities. It has been shown that
. the technique of the Malay speech is related to the Sanskrit of
India, the Bantu of Africa and the modern languages of
Europe.
Journal of the Muslo Academy, vols. VI & VII
— . — This musical work composed by king Raghunath
in Sanskrit is being edited.
P. K. Gode. The Chronology of the Works of Pundarika Vitthala
of Karnataka. Pundarika who has written several treatises on
music has been assigned to the 2nd half of the 16th century
A.C.
P. Sambamurti. — Ragas in South Indian Music — Their Origin and
Evolution.
Journal of Oriental Research, vol. XII, part I ,January-March, 1938)
M. Hiriyanna. — Pramana. The scope and significance of pramana
in Indian philosophy are discussed.
T. R. Chintamani. — Vidyavinoda Narayana’s Commentary on the
Amarakosa. Narayana, the commentator of the Amarakosa
lived in Bengal in the beginning of the 16th century. His com-
mentary which has not yet been published is important inas-
much as it mentions a host of authors and works, many of
which arejjfttle known. An account of some of them has been
given here.
N. Venkataramanayya — The Pounders of Vijayanagara before the
Foundation of the City.
A. Sankaran. — Poetry and Rasa.
P. Sreenivasachar. : — The Yadavas of Devagiri — Chronology.
V . Raghavan. — Greater Gita. Besides containing several discourses
bearing the name 'Gita,’ the Mahabharata is interspersed with
passages diffusing the spirit of the Gitl. A long list of the
Gita treatises is appended to the article.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
885
Ibid., vol., XII, pt. II (April-June, 1938)
R. C. Hazra — Purana Literature as known to Ballalasena. Ballala-
sena’s remarks on the character and contents o£ the different
Puranas as well as the Purana quotations contained in his two
works Danasdgara and Adbhutasagara have been examined in
this paper.
R. Sathianathier. — Historical Notes on the Mudraraksasa. The
close proximity of the Mudraraksasa to the Arthasastra, its
realistic picture of the maxims and methods of Kautilyan state-
craft, its administrative terminology, its peeps into the criminal
law and social life of the Maurya age, and its outline of the
Nanda Candragupta conflict’ corroborate the reliability of the
tradition preserved in the plot of the drama.
E. P. Radhakrishnan. — The Siddhantasloka in the Istasiddhi.
S. R. Balasubrahmanyam — Chidambaram Inscription of Acyuta-
deua Raya.
N. Venkataramanayya. — Ma bar (from 13 11 to 1^23 A.D . ).
Information has been put together about the political condition
of Ma’bar just after the departure of Malik Kafur in 1311.
Ibid., vol. XII, part III (July-September, 1938)
C. S. SRINIVASACHARI. — Brahmanic Survivals in Siam. The
Brahmanic influence is traceable in Siamese laws and the rivals
in the court ceremonies of Siam.
K. G. Sankar. — The True Date of Buddha. The conclusion reach-
ed here is that the Buddha died ig 525 b c.
G. }. SoMAYAJI. — Some Words Denoting Relationship in the
Dravidian Languages.
M. VenkaTARAMAYYA. — Notes on the Ancient Political Geography
of South India. The country of Asmaka is the subject-matter
of this instalment of the Notes.
T. R. Ramkrishna Sastri. — Valmtki , His Mind and Art.
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
29
886
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T. R. Chintamani. — 'History of Purvamimamsa Literature. It is
being published as supplement.
Journal of the Osmania University, vol. III.
Yusuf Husain. — Nadir Shah's Invasion and Nizamu-l-Mulk's
Role of a Mediator.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, July, 1938.
H. D. Sankalia. — The Earliest Jain Scriptures in Kathiawar. Some
rock sculptures at Dhank in Kathiawar representing figures of
the Jain iconography are inferred to have belonged to the early
centuries of the Christian era.
Ibid. , October, 1938
W. H. MorIsland. — The Pargana Headman (C baud hurt) in the
Mogul Empire. The position, emoluments and duties of the
Chaudhuri in the times of the Mughal emperors have been ascer-
tained in the paper. At a later time when his executive
functions disappeared, the Chaudhuri had connection more
with revenue.
E. H. C. Walsh. — The Image of Buddha in the Jo-wo-Kbank
Temple at Lhasa.
E.'H. Johnston. — The Gopalpur Bricks. Some bricks discovered
long ago*at Gopalpur in the United Provinces contain inscribed
in them several Buddhist . Sutras. A transcription of the un-
published materials ha? been given here. The inscription
is assigned to near about 500 a.c.
Journal of the Royal Aslatio Society of Bengal, Letters, vol. Ill, 1937, no. 1
Sasanka Sekhar Sarkar. — The Social Institutions of the
Malpdh arias.
Karunaketan Sen. — Notes on Rural Customs of Dinajpur District.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals 887
S. N. Chakravarti. — A Sculptured Lintel of Gupta Date from
Sarnath.
Padmanath Bhattacharyya . — Location of the Land Donated by
the Nidhanpur Grant of Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa. The
writer of this note argues in support of his contention that the
land donated by the Nidhanpur grant was in a place in Rangpur
and not in Sylhet, the findspot of the grants.
P. C. Sengupta. — Some Astronomical References from the Maha-
bharata and their significance. Some of the time references
occurring in the Mahabharata have been interpreted in the
paper with the help of astronomy and the Kuruksetra battle has
been assigned to the year 2559 b.c.
Ibid., vol. Ill, 1937, no. 2
G. V. Acharya. — A Resume of Numismatic Research in India.
M. F. C. Martin. — Coins of Kidara and the Little Kusanas-
Durga Prasad. — Observations on different Types of Silver Punch-
marked Coins , their Periods and Locale.
K. N. Dikshit. — A New Coin. The coin dealt with here belongs
to Sivasri Apilaka inferred to have been a scion of the Andhra
family ruling independently over a principality at the north-
eastern extremity of the Andhra empire.
G. V. Acharya. — Two Notes , on Western Ksafatpa Coins, and
Valabhi Coins.
A. S. Altekar. — The Attribution of the Candragupta-kumaradevi
Type. The writer holds that the coins with figures and names
of Candragupta and Kumaradevi supposed by some to have
been issued by Samudragupta in commemoration of his father
were really issued by Candragupta himself.
Ajit Ghose. — The rare Copper Coinage of Kumaragupta 1 .
Pray ag Dayal. — Two Gold Coins of Siddharaja ( Jayasimha ).
888 Select Contents of Oriental Journals
C. R. Singhal. — On Certain unpublished Coins of the Sultans of
' Malwa.
Journal of the United Provinces Historical Sooiety, vol. XI,
part 1 (July, 1938)
N. N. Sen Gupta. — Religious Dancing.
Santimay Banerji. — Root Cause of Sher Shah’s Attack on Maldeo.
It has been stated in the Karmacandravamsotkirtanaka, a Sans-
krit poem of the 16th century that Sher Shah had undertaken
an invasion of Madwad against Maldeo with the object of res-
toring Kalyanmal to his paternal throne of Bikaner which had
been occupied by Maldeo.
Hari Dev Pradhan. — Social Economy in the Terai (the Tharus ).
V. S. Agarwala. — Ancient Indian Coins as known to Panini.
Ibid., vol. XI, part II (December, 1938)
Vasudeva Sharana Agarwala — Dhyan't Buddhas and Bodhi-
sattvas. This account of the Buddhist pantheon is based
specially on the evidence of the Mathura sculpture.
S. K. Banerji. — Humayun’s Flight to Lahore (*54° a.d.)
P. Basu. — Some Aspects of the Administration of Oudh under
Asafuddaula ( 1 7 7 S' 1 797 )-
Nandalal G^vtterji. — A Forgotten English Expedition against
Prithvi Narayan. The paper treats of the first English expedi-
tion to Nepal undertaken in aid of the Newar ruler Jayaprakash
Malla who was sieged by the Gurkha chief Prithvi Narayan
in 1767.
Vasudeva S. Agarwala. — New Sculptures from Mathura. A
colossal statue of Bodhisattva, a parasol and a group of images
with a dedicatory inscription of the 2nd century A.C. have
been described.
N. N. Das-Gupta. — A Note on the History of Tea. Tea is men-
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
889
tione'd in the Tibetan biography of the Buddhist scholar Atisa
as offered to him for a drink when he visited Tibet in the 1 ith
century a.c.
Journal of the University of Bombay, vol VI, part vl (May, 1938)
H. D. Valenkar. — Hymns to Indra by the Vamadems (Rv.
16-32). Translated and annotated.
V. V. Gadgil. — The M andukyopanisad and the Gaudapada Kari-
kas. According to the writer, the Ad andukyopanisad contained
in the Agamaprakarana of the Gaudapadakarikas is a Sruti text
and some explanatory slokas therein are very old compositions.
The remaining portion of this prakarana together with the
other three prakaranas is Gaudapada’ s work written in the
nature of a commentary and an elaboration of the central
doctrine of the Upanisad.
P. K. Gode. — Date of the Vidikavaisnavasadacara of Hari-krsna
Adisra — between 1/13 and A.D.
H. R. Kapadia. — Outlines of Palaeography (with special reference to
Jain Palaeographical data and their evaluation).
M. R. Majmudar. — A 13th Century Gttagovinda Ads. with Guja-
rati Paintings.
Ibid., vol. VII, part I (July, 1938)
H. Heras. — The Origin of the Sumerian Writing. The purpose
of the paper is to show that the Sumerian writing is a develop-
ment of the Mohenjo-Daro signs in pictograph.
B. A. Saletore. — The Sthanikas and their Historical Importance.
The status and duties of the Sthanikas as mentioned in various
records of different times have been discussed and the changes
in their functions taking place with the change of times have
been noted.
— . — The Significance of Cauthai in Adaratha History.
890
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
Ibid , vol. VII, part II (September, 1938)
S. B. Velankar . — Similes and Metaphors in Rgveda. This is an
English translation of Arnold Hirzel’s paper in German on the
Rgvedic similes.
S. A. Tenkshe. — Visvadarsa of Kavi Kiinta Sarasvatt. The Visva-
darsa, a small work of the 13th century on Dharmasastra has
been edited.
H. R. Kapadia. — The Jaina Manuscripts.
P. K. Gode. — Date of Ndrayana the Commentator of the Upanisads
(Between 1500 and 1700 A.D.)
Man fn India, vol. XVIII, nos. 2 & 3 (April-September, 1938)
Sarat Chandra Roy. — Caste , Race and Religion in India. This
instalment of the paper deals with the probable contributions
of the Alpine racial element to the Indian caste and culture."
David Ray. — The Place of the Khasi in the World.
Nagpur University Journal, no. 3.
V. V. Mirashi. — An Odd Copper-plate of the Vakataka King
Pravarasena II.
S. P. Chaturvedi. — WUfU.. The Bhrhgadiita of Krsnadeva written
in imitation of Kalidasa’s Meghaduta has been edited with an
introduction.
New Indian Antiquary, vol. I., no. 1 (April, 1938).
S. K. De . — The Buddhist Tantrik Literature ( Sanskrit ) of Bengal.
K, A. Nilakanta Sastri. — Southern India, Arabia and Africa.
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy . — Notes on the Katha Upanisad.
ibldo vol. I, no, 2 (May 1938)
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy — Notes on the Katha Upanisad.
Surendra Nath Sen. — Sambhaji Angria: /733-1741.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals 891
W. Norman Brown — A Manuscript of the Sthanahga Sutra
Illustrated in the Early Western Indian Style.
A. M. Ghatage — Parallel Passages in Dasavaikalika and the
A car ah ga.
Helmuth von Glassenapp. — Buddhism in the Kathaka-Upa-
nisad?
Philosophical Quarterly, vol. XIV, no. Ill (October, 1938)
B. S. Naik. — Theory Prediction in Vedanta.
R. Mahadevan . — The Conception of' Personality in Indian
Materialism.
Polski Biuletin Orientalistyczny (Polish Bulletin of Oriental studies)
Vil-I Tom (1937)
Schayer — New Contributions to the Problem of the Pre-Hma-
yanistic Buddhism.
M. Falk. — Indology from the Point of Comparative Religion.
Otto Strauss. — The Task of Translating Scholastic Sanskrit
T exts.
J. Przyluski. — A Note on Heruka Sambara.
Poona Orientalist; vol. II, no. 4 (January, 1938)
B. N. Krishnamurti Sarma — Vadiraja Tirtha. Vadiraja SvSmin,
a prolific writer on Dvaita Vedanta of the ly^adilva School and
a disciple of Vyasaraya has been assigned to the 16th century
A.c. and some of his works have been described in the paper.
P. Nagarajarao. — Problems relating to Verbal Testimony uJitb
special Reference to Dvaita Vedanta,
D. B. DlSKALKAR. — Some Unpublished Inscriptions of the Caulu-
kyas of Gujarat. Four inscriptions of the Caulukya kings
reigning between the 13th and the 14th centuries of the
Vikrama Samvat have been published.
892 Select Contents of Oriental Journals .
R. N. Suryanarayana. — The Exegesis of the Vedas with a special
Reference to the 33rd Chapter of the Aitareya Brahmana. In
this paper which is to be continued, the legend of Sunahsepa
as found in the Aitareya Brahmana have been analysed and
given a new interpretation.
Ibid., vol, III, no. 1 (April, 1938)
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. — Usnisa and Chatra. The turban
and the umbrella are considered in this article as attributes and
prerogatives of royalty rather than as utilities. Their symbolic
significance has also been explained and their effect on icono-
graphy discussed.
D. B. Diskalkar. — Some unpublished Inscriptions of the Caulu-
kyas of Gujarat. Five inscriptions of dates between v.s.
1328 and 1346 are published here. Two of them belong to the
reign of Arjunadeva and three to that of Sarangadeva of the
Caulukya dynasty of Gujarat.
Prahlad C. Divanji. — Further Light on the Date of the
Yogavdsistha. The writer sticks to his opinion that the
Yogavdsistha as available in its printed form could not have
been composed earlier than the middle of the ioth century
A.c. The fact that the work was abridged by Gauda Abhi-
nanda does not stand in the way of hxing this date, because
fAbhinanda is also
assigned to the same century.
Ibid., vol. Ill, no. 2 (July, 1938)
B. N. Krishnamurti Sarma. — The Date of Umdpati’s Pauskara-
bhasya. Evidences have been adduced to show that Umapati
Sivacarya, the author of the Pauskara-bhdsya was different from
and later than the author of the Samkarpanirdkarana. He is
therefore not earlier than the 16th century a.c.
D. B. Diskalkar. — Some unpublished Inscriptions of the Caulu-
kays of Gujarat.
Select Contents of Oriental Journals
8 93
B. N. Krishnamurti Sarma .—Other Insufficiently known or
Undatable Authors and Anonymous Works in Dvaita
Literature.
M. M. Patkar — Muhurtaratna. This is a description o£ a religio-
astrological treatise composed by Isvaradasa in the reign of'
Aurangzeb.
— . — Pratapakalpadruma: A work on medicine composed by Ananta
for Pratapasimha of Jaipur in 1792 A.c.
V. V. Sovani. — History of Gunas in Alamkara.
Ibid., Vol. Ill, no. 3 (October, 1938)
SlTARAM J. Joshi — Sri Dya Dviveda — His place in Sanskrit
Literature. The profundity of Dya Dviveda’s scholarship is
shown by a reference to his work Nitimanjari which he com-
posed in the year 1494 a.c. with a view to propounding some
moral maxims through the help of the legends associated with
the Rgveda.
Fatah Singh. — Agni and Soma — Celestial and Terrestrial.
M. M. Patkar. — . Moghul Patronage to Sanskrit Learning. Seve-
ral Sanskrit works composed under the patronage or during the
reigns of Akbar and his three successors are described here.
P. K. Gode. — • Manuscripts of Commentaries on the Kautaliya
Arthasastra. The importance of a ms. of Yogghama’s com-
mentary on the Arthasastra is indicated iuthis note. *The
commentary is called Nitinirniti. The nfs. in a fragment
containing the first Adhikarana and a portion of the second is
deposited in the Sanghavi Pada Bhandar at Pattan.
Prabuddha Bharata, June, 1938
A. S. Altekar — Woman’s Place in Hindu Religion.
Quarterly Journal of the Mythio society, vol. XXIX, no. 1. (July 19S8)
B. N. Krishnamurti Sarma. — History of Devotional Literature in
Kannada.
I.H.Q., DECEMBER, 1938
3 °
894 Select Contents of Oriental Journals
K. S. V IDY anathan — The Chronology of the Eastern Caulukyas.
(Journal of the Vangfya Sahitya Parishad), vol. XLV, no. 3
Jogesh Chandra Ray. — ( [The Age of the Vedic
Culture). Following the lines of Tilak and Jacobi, the
writer assigns the Vedas to a greater antiquity. He
shows that there are pieces of astronomical evidences in the
Rgveda which point to different dates from the 9th to the 4th
millennium b.c.
Visvabharati Quarterly, rol. IV, part-II (August-October, 19£8)
Rene Guinon. — The Fifth Veda ■ This is an English translation
of Guinon’s thesis on the Tantras in French with a foreword
by David Mac Iver. The author is a supporter of Hindu tradi-
tional doctrines against modern scientific conclusions of the
West.
Manilal Patel. — A Study of Rgveda X, ji-
Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesselschaft,
Band 91, Heft 2
F. W. Thomas. — A Buddhist Chinese Text in Brahm't Scrip t.
Ibid., Band 92, Heft 1
HeiKRICH LuDERS .—Dasanamaka. A discussion on Vasantasena’s
ten names Ti^cred by Sakara in the drama Mrcchakatika.
Josef Friedrich Kohl. — Der Zodiak des Siva-temples in Fort von
T richinopoly .
Paul Thieme. — Ein iranisches Kulturlehnwort in der Vedischen
Prosa?
Bibliographical Notes
The Malers of the Rajmabal Hills by Sasankasekhar Sarkar. Calcutta
I 93 8 -
Slavery through the Ages by George Macmann. London 1938.
The Human Family and India by G. H. Mees- Bombay 1938.
A Guide to Fateh pur Sikri by M. Muhammad Ashraf Husain edited
by H. L. Srivastava. Delhi.
Report on the Administration of the Archcelogical Department ana
the Summer Public Library, Government of Jodhpur, vol. XI.
Jodhpur.
Annual Report on South Indian Epigraphy for the year ending 3 hst
March, 1935. Madras 1938.
Annual Report of the Archaeological Department of His Exalted
Highness the Nizam’s Dominions, 7933-3^. Hyderabad.
Annual Report of the Mysore Archaeological Department for 1936.
Bangalore 1938.
Annual Report of the Archaeological Department, Baroda State, for
* 93 6-37 by Hirananda Sastri. Baroda 1938.
Travancore Archaological Series, vol. VIII: Text of Inscriptions
by R. V. Poduval. Trivandrum 1938.
A Guide to Sculptures in the Indian Museum, parr^Tf* The Graeco-
Buddhist School of Gandhara by N. G. Majumdar. Archaeo-
logical Survey of India. Delhi.
Buddhist Antiquities of Nagarjunakonda by A.- H. Longhurst.
Delhi 1938.
Buddha and Bodhisattva in Indian Sculpture by Raghu Vira and
Chikyo Yamamoto. Sarasvati Vihara Series. Lahore 1938.
Annual Report of the Archeeological Survey of India for 1935-36.
edited by J. F. Blakiston. Delhi 1938.
896 Bibliographical Notes
Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India:
No. 49 Bijapur Inscriptions.
No. 52 A Memoir on Kotla Firoz Shah, Delhi-
No. 56 The Ananda Temple at Pagan.
No. 58 Rajagrha in Ancient Literature by Bimala Churn
Law. Government of India. Delhi.
Indian Sculpture and Painting by K. Khandalawala. Bombay 1938.
Indian Temples by O. Bruhl and S. Levi. London.
Studies in Chinese Art and some Indian Influences (Lectures) by J.
Hackin, O. Siren, L. Warner and P. Pelliot. London 1938.
Les Toiles Imprimees de Fostat et I’Hindoustan by R. Pfister. Paris
1938.
A Concise History of Buddhist Art in Siam by R. Le May-
Cambridge 1938.
Two Lamaistic Pantheons from materials collected by the late Baron
A. von Stael Holstein. (2 vols.) Harvard University Press.
Cambridge, Mass.
Indian und China (Art of construction and plastic) by Alfred
Nawrath. Vienna 1938.
Buddhist Bibliography (Annual Supplement III) by A. C. March.
London 1938.
Gautama the Buddha by S. Radhakrishnan. Oxford 1938.
Mdhayana Buddhism by B. L. Suzuki. London 1938.
The Buddha^sTSehret by R. Daniel. London 1938.
Two Buddhist Books in Mahay ana:
(1) The Vow of Samantabhadra, (2) An Outline of the Land -
doctrine translated into English by Miss P- C. Lee. Hongkong.
translated from the original Pali into Hindi by Bhiksu
Jagadis Kasyap. Sarnath 1938.
Le Trait e de Vacte de Vasubandhu ( Karmasiddhiprakarana ) by
✓
Etienne Lamottee.
La Somme du Grand Vehicule ( Mahayanasamgraha ) d’Asahga:
Bibliographical Notes
897
Traduction et Commentaire (chaps. 1 & 2) par Etienne
Lamotte. Louvain 1938.
Zen Buddhism and its Influence on Japanese Culture by Daisetz
Teitaro Suzuki. Kyoto 1938.
Le Canon Bouddhique en Chine (les traducteurs et les Traductions),
vol. II e par Prabodh Chandra Bagchi. Paris 1938.
What was the Original Gospel in Buddhism ? by Mrs. Rhys Davids.
London 1938.
Abhidhammapitaka with an essay on the Paticcasamuppada by
Nyanatilaka. Bombay 1938.
Dharani Texte ( Kleinere ) by Y. Iwamoto. Kyoto.
Vinaya-pitaka (vol. I) translated into English by I. B. Horner.
London 1938.
Alinor Anthologies of the Pali Canon, part III : Buddhavamsa and
Cariyapitaka. London 1938.
Samadhirajasutra (Three chapters) edited by K. Regamey. Warsaw
1938.
Zum soghdischen Vimalakirtinirdesasutra by Fr. Weller. Leipzig
x 937-
A Buddhist Bible (2nd Edition) by D. Goddard. Colombo
i 9 3 8 .
La vie de Marpa suivie d’un chapitre de l’Avadana de l’oiseau Nila-
kantha-Tibetan Text with French translation by Jacques Baicot-
Paris 1937. /
shr ^ by Shital Prasad. Surat 1938.
Samantapasadika (Buddhaghosa’s commentary on the Vinaya
Pitaka) edited by J. Takakasu and Makoto Nagai. London
1938.
Papahcasudani (Buddhaghosa’s commentary on the Majjhima
Nikaya), part V, Suttas 13 1-153 edited by I. B. Horner.
London 1938.
^ by Bimala Churn Law. Calcutta 1938.
898 Bibliographical Notes
Mediaeval Jainism with special Reference to the Vijayanagan
Empire by B. A. Saletore. Bombay 1938.
of Caturdamsa Purvadhara with the Vrtti of Abhaya-
suri edited by Dronacarya. Bombay 1938.
5 RT% tfsr? (Jain) compiled by Amritalal Maganlal. Ahmedabad
1938.
The Numeral Signs of the Mohenjo-Daro Scripts by A. S. C. Ross.
Delhi 1938.
Decimal Tables for the Reduction of Hindu Dates from the Data of
the Suryasiddhanta by W. E. van Wijk. Hague 1938.
The Colas, vol. II, by Nilakanta Sastri. University of Madras 1937.
(Life of Peswa Madhavrao I) by Sakharam Achyut
Sahasrabuddhe. Bombay 1938.
The Rise and Fall of Muhammad Bin Tughluq by Agha Mahdi
Husain. London 1938.
A History of the Early Dynasties of Andhrade'sa c. 200-625 AI T).
by Bhavaraj Venkata Krishnarao. Rajahmundry 1938.
Administration and Social Life under the Pallavas by C. Minakshi.
University of Madras 1938.
Humayun Badshah by Sukumar Banerji. London 1938.
The Grand Rebel: an Impression of Shivaji, the Founder of the
Maratha Empire by D. Kincaid. London 193 7.
([feg- (in Hindi) by Gaurishaokar Chatterji. Allahabad 1938.
Tripura Buraftje^^ited by S. K. Bhuan. Gauhati 1938.
Buranjis (a chronicle of Jayantia) with chapters on the political re-
lations of Assam with Cachar, Khyrim & Bhutan edited by S.
K. Bhuan. Gauhati 1937.
Assam Buranji (1648-1681) edited by S. K. Dutta. Shillong 1938.
English Records of Maratha History —
Pqona Residency Correspondence,
Vol. 3: The Allies’ War with Tipu Sultan, iygo-iyyy
edited by N. B. Ray,
Bibliographical Notes
899
Vol. 4: Maratha-Nizam Relations, 7792-/795 edited by
V. G. Dighe.
Vol. 5; Nagpur Affairs, 1781-1820 edited by Y. M. Kale.
Bombay 1937, 1938.
Vedic India, part I (Aryan Expansion over India) by V. Ranga-
charya. History of Pre-Musalman India, vol. II. Madras.
Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation from Pre-historic Times
to the Present day by A. S. Altekar. Benares 1938.
Greeks in Bactria and India by W. W. Tarn. Cambridge 1938.
Sovereignty in Ancient Indian Polity by H. N. Sinha. London
1938.
Outlines of Islamic Culture (2 volumes) by A. M. A. Shustery.
Bangalore 1938.
Baharistan-i-gaybi of Mirza Nathan (A history of the Mughal wars
in Assam, Cooch Behar, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa during the
reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan) translated from the original
Persian by M. J. Borah (2 vols.). Gauhati 1937.
Armenians in India from the Earliest Times to the Present day by
J. Mesrorb Seth. Calcutta.
Islam in the World by Zaki All. Lahore 1938.
India in Portuguese Literature by E. M. Pope. Hyderabad.
Founders of Vijayanagara by S. Srikantaya. Bangalore 1938.
The Content of Indian and Irahian Studies by. H. W. Bailey.
Cambridge Utliversity Press 1938. *
The Aryan Trail in Iran and India by Nagendranath Ghosh.
University of Calcutta.
The Crescent in India — A Study in Mediaeval History by Sri Ram
Sarma. Bombay 1938.
Ancient India, vol. 1, by Tribhubandas L. Shah. Baroda 1938.
Der Vedische Mensch: Studien. zur Selbstau ffassung des Inders
im Rg und Atharva-veda by R. N. Dandekar. Heidelberg
9°° Bibliographical Notes
History of Hidu Mathematics , part II: Algebra by Bibhutibhusan
Datta and A. N. Singh. Lahore 1938.
Futuh-us-Salatin — A Political History of the Sultans of India
(A.D. 1 000-/349) in Persian by A. Mahdi Husain. Agra
1 938 .
Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica, 1933-34 (Supplement). Delhi.
Rama y ana in China: (1) Jataka of an unnamed King, (iijNidana of
King “Ten Euxeries” translated into English from the Chinese
by Chikyo Yamamoto. Sarasvati Vihara Series. Lahore 1938.
Art and Archceology Abroad by Kalidas Nag. University of
Calcutta 1938.
Studies in Indonesian Culture: Oirata, A Timorese Settlement in
Kisar by J. P. B. De Josselin De Jong. Amsterdam 1937-
Suvarnadvipa (Sumatra) by Sadananda. Calcutta 1938.
Early Persian Poets of India (a.h. 431-679) by Iqbal Husain.
Patna University 1937.
Panjabi Sufi Poets (a.d. 460-1900) by Lajwanti Ramakrishna.
London 1938. t
Court Poets of Iran and India by R. P. Masam. Bombay 1938.
Kalidasa, vol. II: his genius, ideals and influence by K. S.Rama-
swami Sastri. Srirangam.
Studies in Dhvanyaloka (Reign of Rasa in Sanskrit Criticism) by
P. S. Subbarama Pattar. Trichur 1938.
Concepts of Ritftand Guna in Sanskrit Poetics in their Historical
Development by P. C. Lahiri. Dacca.
Przyczynki do badah nad Dziejami Redakcyj Ramayany (contribu-
tions a L’ Historic des Recensions du Ramayana ) by Eugeniusz
Sluszkiewiscz. Krakow 1938.
A Critique of Nannichodadeva’s Ku marasam bhava by S. Lakshmi-
pati. University of Madras 1937.
StiUistische Studie over Atharvaveda, I-VII by J. Gonda. Wage-
ningen 1938. * *
Bibliographical Notes
=«F£T 3 Tte: (Poetics) of Jayadeva with a commentary edited by Ananta-
ram Sastri. Benares 1938.
of Hemacandra edited by Rasiklal Parikh with Sanskrit
Notes (2 vols.). Ahmedabad 1938.
of Visvanatha with two commentaries edited by
Karunakara. Lahore 1938.
Mrcchakatika translated into English by Revilo Pendleton Oliver.
Urbana 1938.
Megbaduta and Rtusamhara of Kalidasa (Text and French Tran-
slation) translated and annotated by R. H. Assier de
Pompignan. Pans 1938.
PW'-'Ur (Poem) edited by K. Sambasiva Sastri. Trivandrum 1938.
(of Lilasuka) with Sanskrit commentaries of Gopala
Bhatta, Caitanyadasa and Krsnadasa Kaviraja edited by
Susil Kumar De. Dacca 1938.
JTfwrctTH ( ) edited by S. K. De. Bhandarkar Oriental
Research Institute, Poona 1937.
Prayers, Praises and Psalms (Selections from the Vedas, Upanisads,
Epics, Puranas etc-) translated into English by V. Raghavan.
Madras 1938.
(sriFTfcn) edited by Embar Krishnamachaiya. Baroda
,438.
?:i*)R<!JH(Valmiki’s Text in all its recensions) edited by Raghu ’Wira.
Fascicule I- Sal jvati Vihara Series. Lahojf^^S.
(2 vols.) edited by T. R. Krishnamachariar. Madras
* 937 -
of Kalidasa edited with a commentary by Navakisorak
Sastri. Benares 1938.
edited by Trivikrama Tirtha with Introduction by A.
Avalon. Tantric Texts. London 1938.
L’Inde et e’Orient classique (Text et album) by G. Combaz.
Paris 1938.
l.H.Q.j DECEMBER, 1938
3 1
9°2
Bibliographical Notes
Hymnes et prieres du Veda Text translated into French by L.
Renou. Paris 1938.
edited with Bengali Translation by Ayodhyanath
Vidyavinod. Calcutta B.S. 1344 (1938).
edited by C. Kunhan Raja. Unive&ty of Madras.
1938.
with commentary of Venkata Madhava (vol. I) edited
by Lakshman Sarup. Lahore 1938.
(Paippalada Recension) compiled by Raghu Vira.
Lahore 1938.
SRfrfUnnW. (Part I) edited by Raghu Vira. Sarasvati Vihara
Series. Lahore 1937.
edited by Raghu Vira. Sarasvati Vihara Series.
Lahore 1938.
(Compartive Philology in Sanskrit) by R. S.
Venkatarama Sastri. Madras 1938.
(A Grammar of Ardha-
magadhi Prakrit) by Ratna Chandraji Jain Muni. Lahore 1938.
A Grammar of the Sinhalese Language by Wilhelm Geiger.
Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch. Colombo 1938.
Evolution of Awadhi (a branch of Hindi) by Balaram Saksena.
Allahabad 1938.
| edited by U. ’Krishnavijaya Gani. Bombay.
r . Purusottama with French translation and notes
by L. Nitti Dolci. Paris 1938.
Indo-Iranian Frontier Languages , vol. II by G. Morgenstierne.
Oslo 1938.
Introduction to Ardhamagadi by A. M. Ghatage. Kolhapur 1938.
Rgveda-pratisakhya, vol. Ill : English Translation by Mangal
Deva Sastri. Lahore.
(Phonetics) edited by Manomohan Ghosh. University
of Calcutta 1938.
Prakrtanusasana
Bibliographical Notes 903
Das indogermanische N eujahrsopfer im Veda by ]. Hertel,
Leipzig 1938.
Les Grammairiens Prakrits by L. Nitti Dolci. Paris 1938.
Der Fremdling im Rgueda by Paul Theime. Leipzig 1938.
Indian Realism by Jadunath Sinha. London 1938.
La philosophic in Orient by P. Masson-Oursel. Paris 1938.
Saivasiddhanta in the Meykanda Sastra by Violet Paranjott
London 1938.
L/panisads for the Lay Reader by C. Rajagopalachari. New Delhi
1938.
Ten Principal Upanisads translated into English by Purohit Swami.
2nd Ed. London 1938.
Critical Examination of the Philosophy of Religion (2 vols.) by
Sadhu Santinatha. Amalner 1938.
Maydvada or N on-dualistic Philosophy (Vedanta) by Sadhu
Santinatha. Poona 1938.
Sacthana or Spiritual Discipline by Sadhu Santinatha- Poona
i 9 3 8.
Great Cremation Ground (Mahasmasana : A Dissertation on Indian
Philosophy) by Elizabeth Sharpe. London 1938.
Contribution to the Problem of Time in Indian Philosophy by
St. Schayer. Krakow 1938.
7 bought and Reality : Hegelianism and Advaita by P. T. ‘sRaju.
London.
Aphorisms of Yoga of Patahfali translated into English by S.
Purohit Swami. London 1938.
Yoga of the Bhagavadgttd by Sri Krishnaprem. London 1938.
with Word Index edited by S. K. Belvalkar. Poona 1938.
Himalayas of the Soul Principal Upanisads translated into Englisli
by J. Mascaro. London 1938.
Nirguna School of Hindi Poetry by Pitambar Datta Barthwal.
, Benares 1938.
9°4 Bibliographical Notes
Oriental Mysticism (A Treatise on Sufistic and Unitarian Theoso-
phy of the Persians) compiled from the Native sources by
E. H. Palmer. 2nd Edition. London 1938
), vol. II edited by M.S. Vasavalingayya.
Oriental Libraty Publications — Sanskrit Series. University of
Mysore.
The Philosophy of Advaita with special Reference to Bharatitirtha
Vidyaranya by T. M. P. Mahadevan. London 1938.
Foundations of Living Faiths by Haridas Bhattacharya. Calcutta
J 93 8 -
Unsterblichkeit und Erlosung in den indischen Religionen by
H. Glasenapp. Halle 1938.
Evolution of the Rgvedic Pantheon by Akshay Kumari Devi.
Calcutta 1938.
) of Daksinamurti edited by Raghu Vira
and Shodo Taki. Sarasvati Vihara Series. Lahore 1938.
Annual Bibliography of Indian Archeology, vol. XI for 1936.
Leiden 1938.
Catalogue of the India Office Library, vol. 2, pt. 2 : Sanskrit Books
by Prana Natha and }. B. Chaudhuri. London 1938.
Descriptive Catalogue of Manuscripts in the fain Bhandars at
Pattan compiled from Notes of C. D. Datal by Lalchand
<Ehagawandas Gandhi (vol. I« Palm-leaf Mss.) Oriental Insti-
tute. BMdl^i938.
fcitonwnai of Hemacandra (2nd Edition) with Introduction and
Notes by Venkata Ramanujaswami. B. O. R. Institute,
Poona 1938.
<J«aifrwr*ra with Bijanighantu, Bijabhidhana, Mantrarthabhidhana,
Varnabijakosa and Mudranighantu edited by P. Bhattacharya.
(and Ed.) Calcutta.
Dictionary . of Pali Proper Names, vol, II by G. P. Malalasekera.
London 1938.
Bibliographical Notes
9°5
Hobogirin (Dictionnarie encyclopedique du Bouddhisme d’apries les
sources chinoises et japonoises), fasc. 3 : Bussokuseki-chi. Paris-
A Dictionary of Sinhalese Language , vol. I, pt. 3. Royal Asiatic
Society, Ceylon Branch. Colombo 1938.
Verse Index to the Bhagavadgita compiled by W. Kirfel. Leipzig
1938.
An Etymological and Comparative Lexicon of the Tamil Language,
vol. I, pt. 1 by Gnana Prakasar- Ceylon 1938
Encyclopaedia of Islam (abridged edition) London 1938.
Encyclopaedia Mundarika vols. ix &12 (P &R) by Hoffmann and
Emdin. Patna 1938.
of Ajayapala edited by T. R. Chintamoni. Madras
University 1937.
Astahgahrdayasamhita of Vagbhata (pts- 5 & 6) ausdem Sanskrit ins
Deutsche ubertragen mit einleitung anmarkungen und indices
von Luisc Hilgenberg und Willibald Kirfel. Leiden 1938.
edited with Notes by Taradatta Pant. Benares 1938.
^l^WM^jwith a commentary by Narayandatta Tripathi. Indore
1938.
*1KMWT: of Bhavamisra edited with a Hindi commentary by
Brahmasankar Misra with Botanical Notes by Ruplal Vaisva
(part 1). Benares 1938.
WSWW*?: of Gopalakrsna edited with a Hindi Commentaiy by
Prayagdatta Joshi. Benares 1938.
of Govind Sena edited with a Hindi commentary by
Prayagdatta Joshi. Benares 1938.
Drapsa : the Vcdic Cycle of Eclipses by R. Shamasastry. Mysore
I938 '
edited by Kshamavijay Gani. Bombay 1938
^.iwreffw ( ) with Introduction by Hemraj Sarma
edited by Jadavji Trikamji and Samanatha Sarma. Nepal
Sanskrit Series, No. 1. Bombay 193^-
Qo6 Bibliographical Notes
rfwftawRSJ: (A treatise oi« Music in Sanskrit by Govinda) edited by
S. Subrahmanya Sastri. Adyar 1938.
The Ragas of Karnatic Music by N. S. Ramachandran. University
of Madras. 1938.
Printed and published by }'• C. ^arkheV at the Cakutta Oriental
Ptess, Ltd., 9, PancbaS|tt Ofcwe Lane, Calcutta.
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